The Girl From Viridian City
by Cecil Murdock
Summary: Amelia has never left her hometown. She has one pokemon, Growlithe, and still lives at home. That will all change as the local Viridian Gym Open tournament unfolds, setting Amelia and her friends on their paths as pokemon trainers.
1. Chapter 1

-1-

Amelia shielded her eyes from the harsh glare of the stadium lights, so bright that they made the night look practically like daytime. The roar from the crowd was deafening as she stepped into the arena. She could see in the stands people with signs, her name painted on them in bright colors. _Go Amelia! You're our champ!_ She took her place at one side of the battlefield, pulling her first pokeball from her belt, as her name was announced.

"Presenting now, the rookie contender for champion of the Kanto league!" The announcer boomed.

Amelia smiled, closing her eyes as the cheering swelled to a fever pitch…

…and she crashed face first onto her bedroom floor.

The morning sun slanted in through half-closed shades. Amelia made a clumsy attempt to extricate herself from her tangled sheets, sliding the rest of the way off her bed. She checked her watch, and saw that it was past 11. She sighed, and flopped flat onto the floor, staring at the ceiling fan. _Just another dream, of course._ She straightened herself up off the floor, sitting up as she heard barking coming up the stairs. She smiled as the big orange dog pokemon bounded into her room, and coughed as it leaped into her lap.

"Careful there big guy, you aren't as small as you used to be you know," She said, ruffling the yellow tuft of fur atop its head.

Her Growlithe barked appreciatively as she pet him, before Amelia stood up and headed for the bathroom, trailing her pokemon behind her. She gazed in the mirror as she attempted to brush the tangles out of her unruly red hair sticking out at odd angles and running down to her shoulders. She frowned as she sized herself up in the mirror. Seventeen and still not much to look at, she noted with dismay. _Looks like I'll be flat as a board for the rest of forever. _She thought of her friend Colette, whom nature had blessed… bountifully. _Whatever, they'd probably just be a nuisance when I was training anyway._ With renewed determination Amelia gave up on her hair, brushed her teeth, and went into her room to get dressed.

It was the middle of September, and so still pretty warm outside. Amelia threw off her pajamas, and pulled on a black tank top, dark green shorts, and a matching green and black baseball cap. She laced her hiking shoes and grabbed her worn canvas backpack, and then charged into the hall and downstairs, trailing Growlithe behind her.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" Amelia's mother called from the living room.

Amelia paused at with the door half open, "I'm supposed to meet Collette this morning; we're going to try and catch some wild pokemon today! She's probably already waiting for me so I have to go, I'll see you later!"

"Alright then, just try to be careful!" her mother said.

Amelia headed out into the late morning sunlight, flipping open her green pokegear and checking to see if she'd received any messages. No new messages meant that she wasn't _too_ late yet. If she had been Colette would have been sure to let her hear about it. Amelia rushed along her street, with her Growlithe barking enthusiastically behind her. She was meeting Colette at the pokemart to stock up on supplies. Amelia only had the pokeball that belonged to Growlithe, even though she never kept him in it, so she'd need to at least buy some more if she was going to try catching any new pokemon.

Viridian City had always been a pretty quiet place, but it had become a little busier as of late. The local pokemon gym had reopened, under new leadership, and the open events and tournaments it hosted attracted a lot of trainers from the surrounding area, and thriving business along with them. It was nice, and certainly good for her hometown but Amelia sort of missed how peaceful it used to be.

When Amelia arrived at the pokemart, Colette was already waiting outside. She had straight blonde hair that ran to the back of the small of her back, but today wore it cropped into a high ponytail. Her green eyes lit up when she saw Amelia coming down the street, and she waved Amelia over enthusiastically. Amelia saw that their planned expedition had not much discouraged Colette from her usual style: she wore a white sleeveless vest and a blue skirt that Amelia thought was a tad too short. She wore a belt around her waist with two red and white pokeballs on it, and had a stylish looking shoulder bag, that matched her skirt. A pair of tall blue boots rounded out the outfit.

"I was about to call you, I've been here for like twenty minutes waiting! Did you oversleep again or something?" Colette said.

"So sue me, I like to sleep in on the weekend sometimes. It isn't like the forest is going anywhere, we still have plenty of time," Amelia said.

"You won't be going anywhere either with a lax attitude like that! There are plenty of kids our age who already have gym badges; meanwhile we barely even have pokemon!"

Growlithe barked defiantly to that last comment, "She didn't mean it like that Growlithe. Okay so let's not waste any more time talking here then. Today we're definitely going to catch some pokemon, so we're ready to compete in the Viridian Open at the end of the month! The prize money from that will be more than enough to get me started out on the road," Amelia said. She'd actually already saved up a fair amount of money, but had decided that the local tournament would be her way of proving to herself that she was ready to set out.

A fair number of youths would set out at 13 or 14 when they finished primary school, but that was less common lately than it used to be. Now more often aspiring trainers would attend a preparatory academy or local secondary school before becoming trainers in earnest, giving them extra knowledge and learning experience that could prove invaluable in the field. Amelia hadn't felt ready to leave home, and so had opted for the latter option. She felt different now; it was finally time to set out on her own to become a real pokemon trainer.

Amelia and Colette stepped through the automatic sliding door into the pokemart, a chime playing as they entered and were greeted. Amelia followed Colette down the central aisle, where they stopped to consider the rows of boxes on the shelves in front of them.

"Did you bring the list? I don't want to realize we forgot something important after we've already left town."

Amelia reached into the pocket of her shorts and pulled out a folded and partially crumpled piece of paper, "Well mostly we need to stock up on pokeballs. Some standard ones should work well enough, and maybe some of those new net balls might not be a terrible idea. They're a little more expensive but there are plenty of bugs in the forest and we could pretty much guarantee a catch with those."

"Hmm, that sounds good so long as they come in a relatively small box, I don't think I'll need any. I'm not a huge fan of bug-types to be honest," Colette had grabbed a basket, and was taking two identical boxes off of the shelf. They proclaimed in bold letters: **Pokeball-Standard-10 Pack.** Amelia grabbed another box that read **Pokeball-Net-5 Pack.**

"I'll just get a few for myself then. I think it would be cool to have a beedrill for the competition," Amelia said.

"Do you think you'd get a weedle to evolve by then? _Twice?_ Aren't we confident?" Colette said, as she and Amelia moved on to the back of the store.

"We should bring some potions and antidotes with us too. If one of our pokemon gets poisoned out there we don't want to have to rush home, that would waste the whole day," Amelia said, grabbing several of the small, reusable spray bottles and a few of the larger refill bottles for them.

"I think all we need now is some pokemon food to use as bait and we're set. How many people do you think will show up for the tournament?" Colette asked, while trying to choose between two bags of food.

"I think it's going to be pretty big. They're holding it in an open air venue they're preparing on the edge of town, rather than in the actual gym, so they must anticipate a pretty big showing. We'll have to really bring our A game if we want a chance of placing well," Amelia said.

"Well hopefully the competition won't be quite as fierce in the badge-less 3 on 3. It would suck to get knocked out in the first round," Colette said. The tournament was single elimination, so one loss would put them out of the running.

"I guess we'll just have to use our time wisely. You already registered for it right?" Amelia asked. They were making their way back to the front of the store, where the check-out registers were.

"Yeah I signed up online a couple days ago. I'm really excited, but I'm also pretty nervous. This will be our first ranked competition! We'll have to show our trainer cards and everything," Colette sounded as excited as Amelia felt.

They paid for their purchases and split them up outside the pokemart. Amelia took her share: 15 pokeballs, 5 of them the special 'net' balls, a potion spray bottle and an antidote one and her bag of pokemon food. Hopefully she'd picked out a type that would draw out some good catches.

Amelia and Colette strode down the main street, heading away from the center of town and towards Viridian Forest. The forest was a favored local spot for catching wild pokemon, as it was vast and home to a wide variety of species. It was also only about a 20 minute hike, making it a convenient location for starting and experienced trainers alike.

"So what's our goal for today? Do we keep on searching until we run out of pokeballs, or do you have a set number or certain kinds you want to catch?" Amelia asked.

"I don't have special plans, it's too hard to try and predict what we might come across. I have Spearow and Marill already, so technically I only need one more pokemon to have my team of three for the tournament. How about you? You can't very well expect to win with just Growlithe, no matter how tough he is," Colette said.

"Well I still only need two... it would be great if I caught a pikachu, I know there are some in the deeper parts of the forest," Amelia said.

"Sure if you can lure them out! I wouldn't count on it though; they're fast when they're trying to get away. Cautious too," Colette said, laughing.

They were out of town now, heading down Route 2 towards the forest. The road was open and flat, with grassy fields on either side, and gently rolling hills in the distance. The trees of Viridian Forest loomed ahead. Amelia knew she needed to catch herself some new pokemon, and not all of the same type. With just Growlithe, she was easy pickings for other trainers, especially if they had water-types. Amelia had never beaten Colette in a match for just that reason. No matter how hard he tried, Colette's Marill always wiped the floor with her poor Growlithe. There was an upside to the constant dousing he took though: Growlithe had developed a little resistance to water attacks over time, so while it was still a weakness, it had become slightly less of one.

It didn't take long for the pair to reach the edge of the forest, where the road narrowed and passed into the thick canopy of trees. Until recently there hadn't even been a paved road through the forest. Now a road with streetlights ran through the forest, with a maze of dirt paths leading deeper into the forest in a variety of direction. Growlithe crouched down low to the ground, growling and barking into the maze like interior.

"Oh quit being such a scaredy-cat, it's not so scary in there and we're here with our friends," Amelia said.

Colette reached for the first pokeball on her belt, and thumbed its release, holding it out towards the ground, "Come on Spearow, it's show time!"

The ball opened and a red beam of light issued from it, coalescing on the road into a small red bird with brown plumage on its head and a sharp beak. It crowed agreeably as it emerged.

"Spearow, fly up into the trees so you can get a better look at our surroundings. Stay close to us and call out if you see something!" Colette said.

Spearow cawed in agreement and flitted up into the trees, quickly vanishing from view. Amelia reached into her pack, and fixed several empty pokeballs to her belt, so they would be readily available. Growlithe was still proceeding carefully behind her, his ears flat against his head.

"Let's find a path that will take us a good distance away from the main road and try and set some food out to try and attract some likely catches. This close to the road we're not going to find anything," Colette said.

Amelia nodded in agreement, and they set off into the woods together, with the distant sound of Spearow's wings and the occasional disturbed leaves of trees following them. After a few minutes following the road they came upon a small dirt path that lead deeper into the trees.

"This looks as good as any, let's see where it takes us," Amelia said.

"Hmm, I was thinking, if we stick together we might end up having to fight over who gets what pokemon. We both need to catch some, so it's probably better if we split up. We can keep in communication with our pokegears, in case one of us gets in trouble. What say we have a little competition right now? We'll meet back here in 4 hours, and whoever has the fewest pokemon caught has to pay for dinner when we get back?" Colette said.

Amelia smirked, "You're on! May the best girl win." they shook on it and then split up.

Colette continued down the road to find another path, while Amelia headed down the one in front of her. The forest was thick with undergrowth, and the tree cover was so dense that it barely even looked like daytime. The path wove a twisting course through the trees, until it came upon a small clearing covered sparsely with grass.

"This looks good, let's set some food out in the middle and wait over here at the edge of the clearing. I bet something will come out to investigate before too long!" Amelia said to Growlithe, trying to mask her excitement.

She reached into her pack for the food bag she'd bought, crumbling some up and leaving it towards the center of the clearing, before retreating back to the edge and crouching behind a tree, along with Growlithe, who was hiding belly flat to the ground in the underbrush. Together they waited impatiently for around half an hour before there was any sign of movement. Finally Amelia saw a small shape inching towards the food cautiously. It was a weedle! The yellow worm with the stinger on its forehead and big red nose was slowly approaching the bait, its beady black eyes apprehensive of the unexpected treat.

"When I give the signal turn on the heat, but don't go overboard, we don't want to deep fry this little guy," Amelia whispered to Growlithe.

The weedle was now munching happily on the food, its caution momentarily forgotten.

"Okay Growlithe, go get it!" Amelia cried.

With an energetic bark Growlithe bounded from his hiding place, rushing towards the unaware bug pokemon. Seeing the streak of orange bolting towards it, the weedle jumped in alarm, and began inching frantically away, but its efforts were too little too late. Growlithe stopped himself short and let out a thunderous bark, but this time the sound was followed by a scatters hot of small flames. They hit the weedle head-on, turning to wispy smoke as the segmented bug curled up in defense. Amelia rushed forward, grabbing one of the special net balls from her belt.

"Pin it Growlithe! We've got this one!" She shouted.

Growlithe leaped forward towards the defending bug, and pinned it into place with his big front paws. Not wasting the opportunity, Amelia aimed and then hurled the netball at the weedle with all the force she could muster. The shot was good, and hit the weedle dead on, opening and engulfing it with blue energy resembling a net, and then drawing it in. The netball snapped shut, rocking side to side furiously for a moment, before finally setting still on the ground, and locking itself securely closed.

Amelia rushed forward to recover the netball, kneeling next to Growlithe and ruffling the fur on his head.

"Good job partner, you did an awesome job! We caught one! "It was a good start, to what Amelia hoped would be a productive day.


	2. Chapter 2

Amelia's initial optimism proved to be premature. While the bait she'd laid out quickly drew in a weedle, she fast found that that seemed to be _all _it would attract. The drawn out pokemon weren't much of a challenge for Growlithe to fight from ambush, and Amelia wasn't looking to start a bug collection, so the additional bugs drawn out were just a waste of time and bait. After an hour she decided that it was time to change locations. The clearing was convenient but it was clearly full of nothing but weedles. Amelia and Growlithe headed further down the path, and deeper into the woods. This was a part of the forest so heavily overgrown that there was barely any light at all. She hoped that here there might be something different for her to try and catch.

After a half hour of wandering down the path, Amelia found herself at the edge of a pond, surrounded by high grasses. She hadn't ever realized that there were bodies of water out in the forest, but wasn't surprised, given how big it was. She crept forward into the grass, with Growlithe following suit beside her. She could hear rustling in the brush in front of her, and barely stopped herself from yelping when a small brown shape shot up from the grass into the trees, landing on a low branch. It was a small brown bird, with patches of cream feathers along its underside. A pidgey!

"Finally something that isn't a bug," Amelia murmured to herself.

In such heavy undergrowth, it would be difficult to get in close to the pidgey without scaring it away. Growlithe might be able to hit it with some fire, but she'd never asked him to hit such a small target at such a long range before. If he missed they wouldn't get a second chance. _There has to be a better way, but I can't think of one. _Amelia considered her surroundings. There was no way she could get any closer but maybe _Growlithe could_.

She whispered to Growlithe, "Try and sneak up close to that tree. Then use your ember attack to scare the pidgey over her towards me. Then I'll get it with a pokeball."

Growlithe nodded in assent, and began slowly prowling through the grass, towards their intended target. Pidgeys were common to the area, but with proper training could become valued members of any trainer's team. Amelia could use a flying-type on her team, but didn't want to catch a spearow, the other bird pokemon common to Viridian. _I don't want to just be copying Colette. _Amelia knew that was a foolish thing to think; each pokemon was its own unique creature. Still, some part of her felt that way.

Amelia shook those thoughts away and focused back on the task at hand. She readied two pokeballs, one in each hand. It was likely that a pokemon that hadn't been weakened first, even one as relatively weak as a pidgey, wouldn't be caught in a single attempt. She could see Growlithe near the base of the tree, moving to get a good angle on the pidgey. He tensed a moment, and then barked, sending a flurry of tiny flames at the pidgey, the bird quickly took flight, some of the little flames singeing its feathers, but Growlithe shot another cloud of embers above the pidgey, forcing it to swoop down low towards the grass.

Amelia seized her chance. She burst from the grass, slinging a standard pokeball in a side-handed toss at the pidgey. The bird was caught by surprise, but managed to barely bat the ball away with its wing. The effort caused it to lose more altitude though, and Amelia tossed the pokeball in her other hand, this one landing on the pidgey's head, and drawing it in with a flash of red light. Growlithe closed in behind where the ball landed, ready to attack if the pokeball failed to contain its target. The ball shook furiously, hopping off the ground with the pidgey's effort to escape. Amelia was sure it was going to break free, her teeth clenched in suspense, but the ball finally settled back to the ground, and clicked to confirm it was locked.

Amelia let out a triumphant shout and went to recover the pokeball, and searched around for the one that the pidgey had blocked. She found it floating at the edge of the pond, open and deactivated. _Well this thing's a bust. I might be able to make it usable again after I get home. _Amelia was not very handy when it came to pokeball tech, but she knew a few people who were. She picked up the damaged ball and returned it to her backpack. She was hardly sad about the damaged ball, it had been worth it. Two new pokemon already and she still had a little time left. If she was lucky, she might be able to manage a third.

Amelia clipped the pokeball with her newly caught pidgey on to her belt next to the netball with her weedle, and smiled down at Growlithe.

"Today's going great eh buddy? At this rate, first place is going to be no sweat," She said. Growlithe barked his agreement.

Amelia checked her watch, and saw that it was still almost an hour before her agreed meeting time with Colette. Still, it was a bit of a hike back to the road, and Amelia didn't want to make her wait _again_, so she began retracing her steps. She hoped that she would chance upon another likely spot for catching, but even if she didn't she had at least the minimum three pokemon she would need for the tournament.

The winding path was quiet, almost devoid of forest sounds, and Amelia wasn't especially surprised by that. With all the fire and fury that she and Growlithe had brought, no doubt the forest's denizens had grown wary, and were now silently observing their passage. Wild pokemon often demonstrated shyness and caution around people, especially people who had pokemon of their own.

Amelia's path lead her past low growing ferns and brush, but one particular plant drew her attention. It was a large green bulb, bigger than any of that sort she'd seen before. She stopped to admire this massive bulb, nestled in the brush, before she realized that _it was moving_. It appeared to be attempting to remain still, but even that could not conceal that it was moving. It took Amelia another moment before she realized where she recognized the plant from. _That's a bulbasaur! I didn't think they came this close to the edge of the forest!_ She looked to Growlithe, who was already growling at the bulbasaur hiding in the grass.

To Amelia's surprise, the bulbasaur burst from its concealment, and planted itself defiantly in from of them. Rather than run, this pokemon had chosen to fight. That was fine by her. _With Growlithe backing me up, a grass-type will be no problem._

Amelia backed up, so that Growlithe had room to work, "Let's do it Growlithe! Crank up the heat! Ember!"

Growlithe barked out yellow flames, but the bulbasaur had already dodged the attack, and lashed out with two vine tendrils. Growlithe rolled away from the whipping cords of vine, and barked another burst of fire. Again the bulbasaur was too fast, leaping clear of the fires before landing and staring down Growlithe furiously. Amelia knew that she'd need to change her strategy.

"It's too fast to fight at that range! Move in and take away its advantage!" Amelia shouted.

Growlithe barked in agreement, and rushed at the bulbasaur, evading lashing vines as it closed the distance with its opponent. The bulbasaur was quick, but up close it wasn't faster than Growlithe. Seeing its advantage diminished the bulbasaur let out a defiant shout and a burst of razor sharp leaves from its bulb.

Amelia felt a moment of panic "Growlithe use your fire to disperse those leaves! Ember!"

Growlithe barked fire and leaped at the bulbasaur through the cloud of scored leaves, tackling it to the ground. Growlithe saw the opening and took it, letting loose another flame burst that scorched the bulbasaur and sent it tumbling to the ground.

Amelia didn't hesitate. She grabbed an empty pokeball and threw it as hard as she could towards the downed bulbasaur. The pokemon was rolling in the dirt to put out the small flames that had overtaken it, and so was caught unawares by the incoming pokeball, which opened and drew the bulbasaur in with its red energy. The ball gave a few feeble hops, but the last attack had clearly taken its toll. _Fast or no, a bulbasaur is still a grass-type, no match for a trained fire pokemon. _The Pokeball clicked closed after ceasing its movement, and Amelia couldn't resist grinning. Bulbasaur's were fairly uncommon in the region; she'd never even _seen one in person._ She could imagine how jealous Colette would be when she found out.

Amelia's smile faltered when she turned to Growlithe. Even though the fire from his attack didn't hurt him, the leaf cloud had still done some damage, and he'd been roughed up by the take down too. He limped the short distance to where Amelia had stooped to pick up her pokeball, and whined feebly.

Amelia put her backpack on the ground and opened it to retrieve the potion spray bottle, "You did good partner but you shouldn't be so reckless. If you get really hurt taking down your opponent it's no good. I wouldn't have been mad if the bulbasaur had gotten away."

Growlithe barked bravely despite his injuries, and Amelia smiled, "I know, it's your decision pal, I just don't like watching you get hurt. Hold still this might smart a little," Amelia sprayed the wounds on Growlithe with her potion applicator. The effect was more or less immediate, and Growlithe stood back up, still a little scuffed up but with no sign of a limp.

"Okay, let's get back to the road to meet Colette now!" Amelia said, and lead the way back down the path, going slower so that Growlithe wouldn't have to strain himself. Amelia knew that the spray medicines from the pokemart healed pokemon injuries more or less instantly, but there was no rush and she thought Growlithe had earned a rest. They walked the rest of the way back to the forest path, and waited there for Colette. After a short while she emerged from the brush, surprisingly unruffled despite the afternoon she had spent in the woods.

"Well, how'd you end up doing?" Amelia said, watching Colette carefully.

Colette smiled brightly, "Not too bad for an afternoon. I caught two: the metapod was easy, but I was really lucky and found a Pikachu! I bet you're jealous."

Amelia smirked, "I might've been if I hadn't beaten you. I totaled three today: weedle, pidgey and a _bulbasaur_,"

Colette was agape, "I didn't think there were any around here! Darn it I thought my pikachu definitely would've been the headliner for the day."

"It was a tough fight, but Growlithe's type advantage and dedication pulled us through, right buddy?" Amelia said. Growlithe barked in agreement.

"Well you win fair and square then. Let's head back home then, I've seen enough woods for one day," Colette said.

The two walked back down the side of the road towards Viridian City, chatting excitedly about their day.

"I'm surprised you managed to catch a pikachu with only a flying-type and a water-type to work with, how'd you manage that?" Amelia asked.

"It wasn't easy that's for sure, and part of it was luck. I used Marill to distract it and then ambushed it from above with Spearow. Pikachu's can pack a punch but they can't take much of a beating. With surprise on his side Spearow took him out with no problem," Colette said.

"I guess that's the advantage of multiple pokemon that are used to working together. I can't wait to train up my new team members!" Amelia said.

They had reached the edge of the woods, and now were walking down dirt path beside the road, basking in the sun.

"Hey do you want to get some quick training in before we get back home?" Colette said.

"Without new pokemon? I want to get them at least checked out at the pokemon center before I start training them," Amelia said.

"No not them, just a quick one on one. Growlithe vs. Spearow. No type advantages, so it'll be a fair fight. How about it? There's plenty of clear ground out here for it," Colette said.

Amelia looked down at Growlithe, "What do you think partner? Do you feel up to another fight?"

Growlithe wagged his tail, and his eyes narrowed with determination. He barked energetically. Amelia smiled; Growlithe was just like her, and never backed down from a challenge.

"Okay, you're on, let's get a little bit further off the road and do this!" Amelia said.

They left the dirt path and headed into the open fields beside Route 2. There was plenty of space to fight, but Amelia knew that meant Spearow would have lots of open space to maneuver in. Even if he didn't have a huge type advantage, Spearow would still have the edge in an open battlefield like this. Amelia and Colette both set their bags down, and took up positions opposite one another, with an ample space between them to serve as their ad hock battle zone.

Colette took a pokeball off her belt, and tossed it in front of her, "Spearow, game time!"

Growlithe bounded into the space in front of Amelia, "Okay Growlithe, let's play this one smart. If we can ground Spearow we can win this."

Unfortunately, Colette knew that too, "Stay in the air Spearow! Move in for quick hit and run attacks, don't let Growlithe get a hold on you!"

Spearow cawed and flew up high into the air, wheeling around and then diving with blistering speed at Growlithe. Growlithe watched Spearow and then rolled to the side just as Spearow neared the ground, evading the attack. That was an effective means of dodging, but eventually Spearow's attacks would wear Growlithe down. She needed a plan of attack.

"Growlithe, use your fire to burn the grass around you, and make a smoke screen! Be careful though, don't let Spearow hit you!" Amelia said.

Growlithe responded by breathing embers onto the ground, starting small fires all around him. Spearow swooped in low for another attack, and Growlithe narrowly dodged, getting grazed by Spearow's razor sharp beak. As Growlithe lit more and more flames, a cloud of smoke enveloped him, obscuring him from view. Spearow prepared to dive in again, descending into the thick smoke cloud.

"Okay Growlithe, bite Spearow and bring him down!" Amelia shouted.

Growlithe barked from inside the cloud, and Amelia heard Spearow cawed in surprise and was flung out of the cloud, skidding across the ground. It rolled back onto its talons and took back to the air, a little slower than before.

"Don't risk that cloud again Spearow, use whirlwind to blow that smoke away!" Colette said.

Spearow flapped his wings furiously, kicking up high winds that dispersed the smoke Growlithe had created. The damage was done though, and when Spearow dove in to attack again he was a fraction of a second too slow. Growlithe tackled Spearow, battering him aside. Spearow attacked with his beak, tearing at Growlithe's flank. The attack did damage but the fight was over. In close quarters Spearow couldn't stand up to Growlithe. They exchanged several more furious blows before Growlithe pinned Spearow in the scorched turf.

Colette, crestfallen, called Spearow back, "Darn it, I thought we had you! You did your best Spearow, I messed up. I got impatient and let you attack into that smoke cloud."

"Good job Growlithe! How're you feeling?" Amelia said as Growlithe bounded back to her.

Growlithe shook dust from his fur and wagged his tail. He seemed barely scratched despite his struggle on the ground with Spearow.

"Man I guess it just isn't my day. Food's on me, where do you want to go?" Colette said.

"We can head over to the mall, I'll decide when we get there," Amelia said smiling. She'd beaten Colette twice in one day. She knew if she could keep up that momentum, winning the tournament would be no problem.


	3. Chapter 3

**-3-**

Colette and Amelia entered through the automatic double doors into the Viridian City Mall. The mall had been built in the past 5 years, where the old pokemon center had been. In fact the new pokemon center was located inside the mall, along with a wide variety of stores and shops, a number of them catering specifically to pokemon trainers. The entrance they'd come in through led to a pair of escalators, one of which they rode up into the mall proper.

"So where are we headed. I hope there is food in the offing because all that skulking around in the woods has me feeling _super _hungry," Colette said.

"I'm not picky, let's grab a burger or something," Amelia said.

Agreeing on their mutual indifference, the girls headed towards the food court, with Growlithe following closely behind. They walked past flashy window displays in clothing stores, book stores, a comic shop boasting the arrival of new pokemon trading cards (Amelia remembered collecting those in grade school), and a pokemart at least twice the size of the one that they had shopped at earlier that day. They rode another escalator up to the food court: a brightly lit semi-circular sea of tables and chairs, filled with the din of animated conversation. It was just before the dinner rush, so the lines were fairly sparse, so the girls had no wait ordering. They sat at a table by one of the many broad windows, overlooking the rest of the city in the afternoon sun.

"Well I'd say today went pretty well. We have 4 pokemon apiece, which gives us more than what we needed to enter the three vs. three. I'm not sure which one's I'm going to enter yet though," Amelia said, between bites of her burger.

"Well I think it really depends on if we can get our bug types to evolve in time. I don't think you'd want your third slot wasted on a weedle, and I'm certainly not going to use mine for a metapod," Colette said, picking at her fries thoughtfully.

"Well you'll need to be careful of your selection even if your metapod does evolve before the tournament don't you think?" Amelia said.

"Yeah, with a water type and two flying-types, all it would take is a trainer with a few electric-types and I'd be completely wiped out. I'd hate to have to swap out Spearow but... if I can get Metapod to evolve I might have to. I guess we'll see how well I get along with the new guys before making a decision though," Colette said.

"Yeah, I hope my new pokemon and I get along too, I'm kind of worried to be honest. This is my first time catching a wild pokemon. I've had Growlithe for as long as I can remember," Amelia said. Growlithe beamed up at her from beside the table.

"I'm sure it'll work out. The trick will just be getting it to work out before the tournament. We only have a few weeks to prepare, so we'll have to stay super focused, and get everyone into top form. Speaking of, after this we'd better take our new pokemon down to the pokemon center to get them checked out," Colette said.

"That was partly why I suggested we come here for food, since the pokemon center is just on the far side of the mall," Amelia said.

Colette was about to reply but stopped mid utterance, "Uh oh, trouble headed this way."

A guy about their age had just taken a seat at the table next to theirs. He was wearing khaki colored cargo pants, a light blue canvas jacket, and a wry smirk.

"Ladies, you're looking a little disheveled, bad trip to the woods?" He said.

"Hardly Aaron, it was actually very successful. I snagged 3 new pokemon today," Amelia said.

"Going for an all weedle line-up for the Open? It's unorthodox but I guess that's your preferred approach," Aaron said. Growlithe rumbled at him with displeasure.

"Is there a special reason you decided to stop by and be irritating, or is this going to be a regular thing?" Colette said.

"Whoa, no need to be so_ hostile_. I just thought I'd let you know that I'm also entering the Open, and I wanted to see how your preparations were coming along. Out of friendly concern," Aaron said.

"You mean you wanted to scope out the competition. Consider this well of information all dried up skeezball. You can find out who we're fielding for the tournament when you're getting stomped, just like everyone else," Amelia said.

"Ouch, no need for name-calling Amelia, I was simply curious. I can tell when I'm unwanted though, so I'll leave you be for now. _Best_ of luck," Aaron stood from his table and sauntered off.

"Augh, that guy is the _worst_. I hope I personally have the chance to kick his sorry ass in the 3v3. Do you remember what pokemon he has?" Amelia asked.

"I'm not sure about his whole team, and who knows what he might have caught since school ended, but I remember he had an ekans he was always using. Liked to use intimidation to paralyze opponents and then poison them. Nasty but effective," Colette said.

"I'd like to see him try those tricks on my new bulbasaur. What a creep," Amelia said.

"Forget about him, let's head over to the pokemon center so we can get checkups for our teams," Colette said.

Growlithe whined piteously at this suggestion, and Colette gave him a quizzical look.

"There there buddy, it won't be so bad. He doesn't like having to go into his pokeball, so he hates having to go to the pokemon center too," Amelia explained.

"It's just going to be a quick check-up, we won't be leaving you for too long so you won't have to go into your pokeball okay?" She said to Growlithe.

Growlithe yipped uncertainly, but seemed somewhat reassured. Colette and Amelia cleared their trays and then headed back out into the mall, towards the pokemon center. In the past the pokemon center had been a fairly large building, but it paled in comparison to the area it now occupied on one end of the mall. The automatic doors to the pokemon center opened to allow them admittance to the front lobby, a softly lit room decorated in a soothing array of light blues and greens. There weren't many people waiting, so Colette and Amelia walked up to the desk immediately, smiling at the person behind the counter, a young woman in her early 20s wearing a white nurse's uniform.

"Hi Lisa, We just wanted to get our pokemon checked out. We caught a bunch of new ones today in the forest and want to make sure they're okay," Colette said.

"Okay, that should be no problem! Were you going to have all your pokemon checked out? Including Mr. Growlithe over there?" Lisa said.

Growlithe hid behind Amelia's legs, an effort made comical by his size, "Yes, everyone is getting a once over. Quit hiding you big baby, you don't have to go in your pokeball, right?"

"I think it'll be fine if he just follows along behind me, okay little guy?" Lisa said. Growlithe emerged hesitantly from behind Amelia, and sat next to the counter.

"There you go Growlithe. Thanks for always being so patient with him Lisa, I'm sorry we're always such a pain," Amelia said.

"No problem at all, I understand. Now who else is being checked up today?" Lisa said brightly.

Amelia and Colette handed over their pokemon, held inside their pokeballs. Lisa placed them into a large circular machine behind the counter with rounded recesses clearly meant to house pokeballs. Once they were all placed she returned to the counter and began typing on her terminal.

"Let's see we have Marill and Spearow, those are Colette's and then also a metapod and a pikachu! How lucky I just _adore_ pikachus. Then we have a weedle, a pidgey and a bulbasaur from Amelia. Where did you find a bulbasaur around here? I don't think I've ever seen one in the wild, though I confess I don't go into the woods much," Lisa said.

"He was hiding in the bushes acting like a plant. I was pretty deep into the woods when I found him. I hope he warms up to me; he was a real tough customer!" Amelia said.

"Well I'll make sure at least that he's in tip-top shape. Let me just send them over to diagnostics," Lisa hit several more keys and the pokeballs disappeared in a flash of light. Though she was presented with it every day, Amelia was still amazed to watch modern technology at work.

"Alright, now just let me walk my little friend back. Come on Growlithe let's go!" Lisa said, and Growlithe barked happily and followed her through a pair of double doors, his fluffy yellow furred tail wagging behind him. Amelia and Colette sat in a waiting area on the far side of the lobby.

Colette sighed as she sat, "Man, I don't think I realized until just now how much our little excursion took out of me. I think after we're set here I'm calling it a day."

"I think I might spend some time outside of town with my new pokemon before I go home. I'm pretty tired too but I'm eager to get acquainted," Amelia said.

"Well it's good to be enthusiastic, but don't push yourself too much. A steady pace is best for training new pokemon," Colette said.

"_Thank _you for the lecture professor. I'll be sure not to go too crazy," Amelia said.

"You and I have very different definitions of too crazy" Colette said with a wry grin.

After about 15 minutes Lisa returned with Growlithe in tow, and returned the girls' pokemon to them.

"Alright, everyone looks good to go! Take care now, I'll see you later," Lisa said.

The girls used the secondary exit to the pokemon center, which led out of the mall and onto the street. It was later in the afternoon now, and the sky was just beginning to streak with orange as the sun began its descent in earnest. Colette and Amelia parted ways, and Amelia headed back towards Rt. 2. She stopped in an open grassy area just next to the road, and put her bag on the ground. She thumbed the release buttons and opened the three pokeballs that held her new catches, letting them all out into the grass.

Weedle immediately set to inching about the grass, seemingly eager just to be out of the pokeball. Pidgey in contrast was more tentative, merely hopping and gliding just off the ground, as if checking to make sure he still could. Bulbasaur merely sat on the ground, looking a bit surly.

Amelia was pleased to see none of them had been jarred by the experience of being in a pokeball for the first time. Amelia had learned at her prep school the theory of pokeball function. Pokemon inside pokeballs entered a kind of dream-state of suspended animation, which was for most pokemon pleasant and seamless. They entered and exited pokeballs as if no time had passed in between. This was consequently why it was important to let them out frequently to exercise and play. Some pokemon however, Growlithe included, did not suspend entirely, and so would be aware and have perceptions of being trapped in a small space, while inside pokeballs. It was for this reason that Amelia had almost never put Growlithe into his own pokeball, except when dire circumstance necessitated.

Amelia cleared her throat, "I wanted to introduce myself to you all, now that we'll be working together! I'm Amelia, and this is Growlithe. I hope that we can get to be good friends, while we train together," Growlithe barked a friendly hello.

Weedle made no sound, which was no surprise because weedles typically _didn't_ make any sound. Instead he inched rapidly in a circle to express his enthusiasm. Pidgey chirped happily in greeting. Bulbasaur eyed Amelia warily and made a small growling noise that might've been assent. Amelia wasn't surprised; bulbasaurs were known for tending towards stubborn dispositions, and this one seemed especially willful. It would take a steady and patient approach to win him over. She wasn't worried about that though. Flushed with the day's successes, Amelia felt unstoppable.

"It's a little late to begin training, so what say we just all walk home together?" Amelia said. She reached down so that Weedle could inch up onto her shoulder. Pidgey flapped a bit and glided over to land near her feet, and Growlithe padded over. Bulbasaur remained stubbornly in place, watching them all in measured silence.

Amelia just smiled at him, "Are you going to join us Bulbasaur? I would be glad if you did."

Bulbasaur slowly walked over to join the group, still watching them carefully. Amelia's smile broadened, and she turned back towards the town, heading for her house with her pokemon in tow.


	4. Chapter 4

-4-

The next day, Amelia rose bleary-eyed from bed, when her alarm went off at seven. She swiped at her eyes ineffectually as she trudged to the bathroom, splashing water on her face to try and clear her head. Amelia hadn't gone to bed until late the night before, her mind racing with training plans and battle strategies, and anticipating the strategies of opposing trainers. She now wished that she had simply gone to sleep, and wished deeply that she could go back to bed and wake up the next day.

It was Monday, and Amelia had to go to work. It wasn't uncommon for someone her age to take a part time job, especially if they weren't full-time pokemon trainers yet. There was a fair bit of money in competitive pokemon battling, both official and unofficial battle for that matter, but Amelia was nowhere near that point yet. To save money she had been working part-time as a tutor at her old prep-school. She had graduated the previous spring, and now served as a sort of practical assistant to students looking for extra help.

Amelia changed out of her pajamas: black with a print of charmanders in various poses, and into her work clothes. This consisted of a pair of khaki pants and a black button-down shirt. She tried, as she did most every morning, to brush her hair into a reasonable facsimile of neat, but finally gave up and gathered it into a high long tail with an elastic hair tie. Her preparations having woke her up somewhat, Amelia tromped down the wooden staircase to the first floor, and headed to the kitchen to eat breakfast before heading out. As she poured a bowl of cereal she saw that Growlithe had already eaten _his_ breakfast, and was now waiting dutifully by the door. Amelia assumed her mother had fed him before she'd left for work.

"You're such an overachiever, you make me look bad! Let me get some food and then we'll head to school okay mister eager beaver," Amelia said. Growlithe wagged his tail and yipped in agreement.

Amelia was thoughtful as she ate, her planning from the previous night still occupying her thoughts. The tournament took place starting on Saturday the 28th, which meant that she and Colette had a little less than two weeks to prepare. To get their teams up to snuff that would mean a fairly rigorous course of preparation. Amelia felt good about her chances, but it was still going to be a lot of hard work in a short span of time. She finished her breakfast and then rinsed the bowl in the sink, checking her watch as she left the kitchen. She still had fifteen minutes to catch the next bus, she tromped back up the stairs to her room, grabbing her briefcase-style school bag and after a moment, attaching Weedle, Pidgey, and Bulbasaur's pokeballs to her belt. She probably wouldn't be using them today but it couldn't hurt to bring them along.

Amelia rushed back to the foyer by the living room and laced up her boots then headed out, locking the front door behind her. Growlithe followed eagerly behind her as she walked briskly down the street, heading a block over until she reached the public bus stop. The school she had attended was a twenty minute bus ride from her house, to the west of the city. Amelia and Growlithe stood waiting at the stop, mostly empty, and Amelia watched as the sun shone low over the houses. It was a dewy and cool still, though it felt as if it would be warm later. Amelia loved mornings like these, and so enjoyed waiting a moment at the bus stop.

The bus arrived shortly, and Amelia climbed on, with Growlithe close on her heels. He sat on the seat next to her; strictly speaking pokemon weren't allowed to ride on a bus, but Growlithe was well behaved so no one minded. Amelia watched out the window as buildings rushed past, then trees as they left the city limits. She could see the river from behind the veil of leaves, and then finally the large orderly buildings of the Viridian City Preparatory Academy, which everyone just called Viridian Prep in practice. The bus stopped by the front gates, and Amelia descended onto the cobbled stone walkway, greeting the gate guard as she headed towards the main building. Amelia greeted familiar faces, student and teacher, some of whom also stopped to greet Growlithe. Amelia entered the school, pushing open the solid wooden front doors, and entering the austere front hallway. Viridian Prep was an old school, and competition to get in was pretty tough. Amelia remembered how stressed she had been when she took her entrance exams, and really sympathized with students who struggled. That was a big part of why she'd chosen to work as a tutor to students after she'd graduated.

The school consisted of a mix of lecture halls, study rooms, and large open practical spaces used for battling and practical training. Amelia's job entailed a mix of theoretical instruction and practical demonstrations, but today she would be doing the latter. Some students had no problem with learning about and remembering information, but struggled when it came to applying that knowledge in actual pokemon battle situations, and were aided immensely by practice battles, or simply by watching a match in person, and having it broken down for them afterward.

Amelia entered a gymnasium style room of modest size with lecture hall style stadium seating in 3 raised rows along one wall, opposite an open area used for demonstrations and practice, and a desk where Amelia put her bag. There was a white board that doubled as a video screen on the wall behind her desk.

She still had a little time before her study session was supposed to start. Viridian Prep was a pretty big school, but the class sizes were pretty small, and Amelia's study group was smaller still, to make sure she could give students the extra attention they needed . Amelia had only been doing her job for about a month (school started in the middle of August) but she found she genuinely enjoyed it.

A bell rang over the PA, and shortly after students filed into the practice room, taking seats in the rows of risers and chatting idly while they waited for the lesson to begin. Today Amelia had a group of ten students who she would be teaching. They were beginners at the academy, three years younger than her.

Amelia cleared her throat, "Okay, let's get started folks, I hope you had a good weekend. Today I'm going to be giving a practical demonstration and then we're going to go over what happened and see what you can learn from watching, assuming of course that my opponent decides to show up."

She had no sooner said this than the door to the practice room burst open, admitting a rushed looking young man Amelia's age, his brown hair disheveled and his jacket looking rumpled. He carried a book bag over one shoulder that had papers sticking out of it.

"Well speak of the devil. So nice of you to grace us with your presence Darren," Amelia said with a smirk.

"Yeah I know, late as usual. I missed the bus again so I had to ride my bike over. I'm only a few minutes late no big deal. But don't you guys follow my example," Darren added quickly for the benefit of the class.

Darren put down his bag and draped his light jacket over a chair, and ran his hand through his hair in what was no doubt a futile attempt to get it out of his face. He was fairly tall, a few inches shy of six feet, making him almost a half foot taller than Amelia, and his standing next to her accentuated his height. He was a tad on the lanky side and carried himself in a relaxed fashion that his easy smiled also reflected. He wore dark jeans and an open blue button-down shirt that was wrinkled and a little too big, over a white t-shirt. Amelia had graduated a year behind Darren, and had never really known him in school. She'd been working with him for a little while and had decided that he was a decent sort, though you could seldom count on him to be anywhere on time clearly.

"I guess I'll let it go then, assuming you're ready to show these guys something useful, rather than just how to lose points for being tardy," Amelia said.

"Oh I'm ready alright. Let's get right to it shall we?" Darren grinned.

Amelia and Darren took up positions on opposite ends of the open space.

Amelia spoke, "This is an important basic step that some newbies forget because they're so excited to start a battle. You want to make sure you're far enough back to not get drawn into the fight. In a regulated or league match, a trainer in the battle zone is at best a match loss and at worst a disqualification. In a casual or otherwise unregulated match, you stand the risk of real injury if you aren't careful. Got it?" Amelia received nods and murmuring assent from the class.

"The same can go for when you're trying to catch wild pokemon actually. There are going to be times there when you might have to get closer than is safe, but whenever possible let your pokemon take point, while you hang back. Remember that your pokemon will be trained to fight, and can be healed fairly easily at a pokemon center. Those same technologies aren't nearly as effective or quick on people, so don't be reckless," Darren said.

"Okay, enough gloom chat. Let's get started. Growlithe, are you ready to go?" Growlithe nodded and wagged his tail.

Darren reached for a pokeball on his belt, and tossed it lightly into the battle space, "Staravia, you're up!"

A mostly black bird with white accenting plumage and feathers that stuck up on its head burst from the pokeball, zooming in circles until it landed a short distance in front of Darren.

"This is important too. Most any well regulated battlefield is going to have 3 dimensional limits. That means a maximum ceiling for flying-types, and a minimum floor for pokemon that are effective burrowers. Official events will always specify these conditions if they're static, so make sure you find out. In an outdoor space with no restrictions, a flying pokemon has a substantial advantage over a terrestrial one. In a room like this where the ceiling is about 15 feet, that advantage becomes very limited," Darren said.

"Even if you don't have a flier or burrower, always consider battlefield conditions. Taking full advantage of them can often mean the difference between a win and a loss," Amelia said.

Amelia and Darren exchanged glances and then nodded; Explanation time was over.

"Growlithe, move in before Staravia can get off the ground! Bite him and bring him down!" Amelia said.

Darren wasn't going to be caught flat-footed, "Staravia, go evasive, don't let Growlithe grab you!"

Staravia was already in mid-flight, hopping from the ground and flapping frantically to gain altitude as Growlithe closed in and jumped to try and bite down on him.

Amelia didn't miss a beat, "Force him back towards the ground with your fire!"

Growlithe barked flames in a sheet towards the ceiling, and as Amelia had planned Staravia had to fly lower to avoid the descending torrent of fire. Darren didn't seem discouraged.

"He's open Staravia, use wing attack and press the advantage!" Darren shouted.

Staravia swooped in low and fast, clipping Growlithe with his wing and knocking him over and sending him skidding across the practice area floor. Growlithe quickly righted himself, and growling a challenge back at Staravia.

Amelia mentally kicked herself, she'd fallen for one of Darren's tricks again. He always seemed a step or two behind everyone _except_ during a pokemon battle. She knew now that rather than trying to keep his distance, Darren planned to use Staravia's hard hitting attacks to end the fight quickly.

"Stay on the move Growlithe, and watch out for Staravia's swooping attacks! He'll slip up sooner or later," Amelia said. This was just like her battle with Colette the previous day, only this time there was a ceiling.

"Use quick attacks and then back off Staravia, you're faster than Growlithe," Darren said. Just like Amelia had hoped, he was relying on Staravia's reflexes to be quicker than Growlithe's. That had not worked out well for Colette, and Amelia felt confident it wouldn't work here either.

Staravia swooped in and Amelia saw the opening, "Now Growlithe, go for the take down!"

Darren's eyes flashed with triumph, "Staravia, close combat!"

Amelia watched in horror as Staravia reached out with its talons to reverse the take down, grappling with Growlithe and battering him fiercely with wings and beak as they crashed to the floor. After several agonizing moments of vicious melee Growlithe broke free, but collapsed onto the floor, beaten. Amelia hung her head, fighting back frustration. She'd essentially fallen for the same trick twice.

"Good job Staravia, return!" Darren thumbed the power on Staravia's pokeball, activating the energy that drew it back inside.

Amelia pressed a button on the wall phone near the white board, and after a moment a girl wearing pink medical scrubs arrived, "Who ended up getting hurt?"

"Growlithe took the beating today. How're you doing buddy?" Amelia grimaced. Growlithe barked with determination.

The nurse leaned down to inspect him, "He doesn't look so bad. I'll take him down to the nurse's station and get him fixed up! Come on big guy," The nurse picked up Growlithe with some effort, and carried him out of the room.

Once Growlithe had been tended to, Amelia and Darren returned their attention to the class. Amelia spoke first, "Okay, let's hear some opening observations and questions about the battle. What did you guys notice?"

One student, a boy with straight hair and glasses, raised his hand, "Staravia was fighting evasively, but actually wanted to get in close. How could you predict that though?"

Amelia nodded, "That's exactly what happened, and this is an important part of battle strategy. It's always important to not get so caught up in the battle that you forget to watch the trainer you're competing against. It's hard to force yourself to split your attention, but it can be crucial, just like it was here."

"It's an excellent point to remember. Some trainers are good at hiding their intentions, others are open books if you just watch. If Amelia had been keeping an eye on me for instance she might've been able to tell from my cool demeanor that things were going the way I wanted them to, and that could have tipped her off that I was baiting her," Darren said.

"I got so fixated on watching Growlithe's moves that I forgot to look up and see how Darren was reacting. Noticing his demeanor wouldn't have guaranteed a win, but not paying attention _did_ guarantee my defeat," Amelia said, keeping her feelings from her voice. This_ was_ a class after all.

Another student, a girl with curly blonde hair, raised her hand, "I was sort of surprised by the outcome. In terms of pure statistics, Growlithe outclasses Staravia in most respects. Especially in a competition at close quarters, I would expect Growlithe's superior defense to let it carry the battle."

"That's technically true, but something you'll come to understand once you've had a chance to get some battle's under your belt is that a statistical advantage cannot make up for sloppy commands, and statistical disadvantages can be made up for with superior maneuvering and insight. Growlithe's defense let's him take hits better, but Darren maneuvered him into a situation where Staravia could land more hits than he could take, before he could fight back. Real battles aren't going to be neat like the simulations, where everyone is taking turns issuing commands. Things can and _will_ get chaotic, and you have to learn to manage that," Amelia said. These were all things that Amelia had been taught by her instructors, and that she still worked to master.

"Any other questions or observations about the battle?" Darren asked.

A girl short black hair raised her hand, "What could Growlithe have done to win the match-up?"

Darren looked thoughtful, and raised an eyebrow to Amelia, "You want to take this one?"

Amelia shrugged, "Conventional wisdom dictates that in a battle where one side is at a decisive speed disadvantage, they should fight defensively and try and wear down the faster side. Fatigue will take its toll and reduce the speed advantage, evening the field. Using intimidation tactics to reduce the opponent's defense and attack are also suggested."

"So why, if you knew that, did you not do so?" Darren played his part in the discussion.

"The problem with the conventional tactic is it's not a very good one. While staying on the defensive, your pokemon will take hits against a faster opponent, and fatigue will become a factor for your side as well. Reducing attack and defense are theoretically good ideas, but that's time you could be spending attacking and not being hit, so it usually evens out, especially in a situation where you are already on the back foot. Alternative strategies suggest doing what I attempted: luring in the faster opponent close and forcing a close quarters fight. The problem there is that if your opponent has planned for that, like Darren did, then that strategy plays right into their hands," Amelia said.

"It can turn into a no win scenario. Under normal circumstances you would want to swap out for a different member of your team, or possibly exploit a terrain feature in the battlefield or a type advantage. That's all a lot more advanced than what we're getting into here though," Darren added.

"The most important lesson here is to maintain field awareness. Don't focus so much on the battle or the trainer that you lose track of the other. Likewise don't get so focused on a single strategy that you become blind to alternatives," As Amelia finished her explanation, the bell rang over the PA signaling the end of the class.

"Okay, that's it for today, we'll see you all later in the week," Darren said.

Students shuffled their notebooks back into their book bags, and descended from their seats to leave. Amelia exchanged goodbyes with several, until only she and Darren were left in the room.

"I think that went pretty well don't you?" Darren said.

"Easy for you to say, you kicked my butt," Amelia said with a rueful smile.

"The odds were stacked against you really. I had the clear advantage and I knew how you were most likely to call it. It was a good demonstration for the class though. I saw Aaron at the gym on Saturday, and he made some smug comments that suggested you're going to enter the open. Do you have other pokemon to round out your team?" Darren said.

"I caught three yesterday, so I think they'll be ready in time. Are you entering?" Amelia asked.

"Yeah I'll be entering the 3v3 lower bracket," The lower bracket included trainers with between one and three badges.

"Well I'm relieved I won't be facing off against you at least, I don't think I'm quite on your level yet. I didn't know you had any badges though, which gym did you qualify at? Viridian?" Amelia asked.

"Cerulean actually, I used to live over by there. Viridian's standard is way more exacting, I've tried taking the challenge two times now, but I haven't even_ reached_ the gym leader," Darren said.

Each gym set its own requirement for receiving its badge. The most common challenge was a marathon battle against several of the gym's trainers, ending with the gym leader. Gym leaders would typically not use their most competitive pokemon, but rather trained pokemon of their gym's favored type, to make the contest more even for the challenger, especially because the challenger had to defeat several opponents in a row. Amelia had never set foot in Viridian's gym, but knew it had a reputation for top notch trainers who favored Normal-type pokemon. The gym's leader had stepped down recently, and she couldn't remember who had replaced him.

"Cerulean, I don't think Growlithe would be wild about _that_ match up. Speaking of, I should go check up on him and make sure he's okay. Staravia really gave him a thrashing," Amelia said.

"Right you are, I have to get upstairs to the library, I'm supposed to be doing one on one help for the next hour. I'll see you around, good luck with your new pokemon!" Darren headed out the door, leaving Amelia to gather up her things. She grabbed her bag and headed down the hall. She was also tutoring a student one on one after class, but first she had to pick-up Growlithe.


	5. Chapter 5

-5-

Amelia walked down the broad hallway with her bag, watching students in their green Viridian Prep uniforms rush by, and couldn't help but feel strange. After all, she had only graduated the previous spring herself, and now she was back tutoring first year students. It felt good to be helping new students learn things that would help them as trainers, and explaining the concepts to others helped her own understanding, but at the same time she sometimes felt out of place. After all, she was still a novice trainer in the real world, who was she to be telling others what to do? She wasn't even as experienced as Darren, who'd already earned a gym badge.

Amelia shook her head. Even though she lacked experience, there was still plenty that she could help first year students to learn. Besides, it really _was_ a good chance for her to improve as a trainer herself. Battling against Colette was good practice, but Darren was a fairly skilled trainer, and if Amelia could beat him, then she could probably beat most any trainer competing in the badgeless bracket of the tournament. _Of course he kicked my butt, so I guess I still have a lot of work to do._ That was the real trick to it. Amelia _knew_ what to do to win in most situations, but she still wasn't able to always make the right call during the fight.

Amelia arrived at the nurse station where pokemon injured in battle were taken. When she entered the waiting room she found that Growlithe was already pacing near the desk, and he bounded over to her when she entered.

She knelt down to pat his head, "Hey pal, sorry we lost. I'll do better next time promise."

Growlithe barked in agreement, his tail wagging enthusiastically. Amelia greeted the nurse who had taken care of Growlithe, and then left with him following behind her. Growlithe was, as a rule, a very social pokemon, and so he enjoyed seeing lots of new people whenever Amelia went to the school for her job. She headed up a staircase, and then followed a long hall that ended in a windowed walkway leading to the library. The live battle demonstration that she and Darren had done was a somewhat special occurrence. Normally they spent the time reviewing what the students were doing in their regular classes, and then Amelia would be available in the library if students wanted extra-extra help with their homework. Usually only a couple students would avail themselves of that help, but Amelia was paid to be in the library either way, and when students did decide to stop by it felt nice to be helping.

Today however was especially slow, and so Amelia had plenty of time to consider the training of her new pokemon, and which ones she would likely include on her team for the tournament. She really liked the idea of a Beedrill on her team, but Colette had been right, her Weedle evolving twice in two weeks was a long shot. That probably meant she would be using Pidgey and Bulbasaur as her two new team members. Training new pokemon was the area in which she was most unsure of herself. Viridian Prep had its own pokemon that students used to practice, and they were all well trained so the students could learn the basics. Other than that, Amelia had only ever battled with Growlithe, who she had a long standing partnership with. She had spent plenty of time studying various methods and tactics for training new pokemon, but that was all just theory. There was no guarantee that any of it would work.

Amelia looked around the library, and remembered her time at school. A lot of the people she had graduated had already left town for various reasons. Some had received job offers in other towns; others had set off to be pokemon trainers. Amelia was excited by the prospect of joining them, but also nervous. She had never left home before, and the thought of prolonged travel was a little daunting. Of course she wouldn't be alone, but it was still a tremendous undertaking.

Several students showed up for clarification and help with homework, mostly simple issues over pokemon type match-ups and evolutionary stages. Once her time in the library was over, Amelia packed up and headed back towards the front gates with Growlithe, who had been napping at her feet. It was around noon when Amelia arrived back at the bus stop in front of the academy.

Amelia waited for the next town bus alone for a moment, before she heard footsteps coming up the walk from behind her, and the sound of bike wheels. She turned and saw Darren walking up the bus stop with his bike.

"How'd the rest of your morning turn out?" Darren said.

"Uneventful. Helped a few new students with some simple stuff, but our demo battle was the highlight of the morning for me. You headed home?" Amelia asked.

"I'm probably going to the Gym first. I'm conditioning my team for the tournament, so I try to put in at least a few hours there every day. Once the tournament is over I'm actually planning to take the Gym challenge again. I'm hoping the experience I'm gaining will give me the edge I need to win this time," Darren said.

"I guess I should get on it too. I was planning to wait until tomorrow to start, but I shouldn't be wasting time," Amelia said.

"No time like the present right? Well good luck to us both, I'll see you later Amelia," Darren said. He mounted his bike and began pedaling down the road.

She had been planning to take the afternoon off from training, but Darren's enthusiasm had changed her mind. After all, she had a lot of progress to make in a short span of time if she wanted to be ready for the tournament.

The bus arrived and Amelia climbed on, her mind whirring with plans once more as she took her seat. It would probably be best if she focused most of her energy on the three pokemon she planned to use in her team. That meant, if she were being sensible, Pidgey, Growlithe, and Bulbasaur. Growlithe was already well trained, and pretty tough, and Pidgey seemed enthusiastic at least. So Bulbasaur would take the most work to get on board and well trained. Amelia mused that some one-on-one training might be good with Bulbasaur.

When Amelia got home, the house was still empty. Her mother worked as a researcher at the pokemon museum in neighboring Pewter City, and often arrived back at home later in the evening. Amelia made lunch for herself, and then headed up to her room. She sat at her desk and turned her laptop on, and put some music on. She unbuttoned her shirt and tossed it onto her desk chair, and then flopped onto her bed in her tank top. She had been up way too late making training plans, and so now felt exhaustion creeping up on her.

_Just a quick nap, then I'll get to work_, she thought, as she drifted to sleep, the afternoon breeze playing gently across her face through her open window.

When next she stirred, the light slanting through the window was of a much redder quality, and at a substantially lower angle. Amelia checked her watch and saw that it was almost 5 p.m. Rather than feeling refreshed by her four hour long nap, she felt muzzy and confused, and answered in a muffled yawn when her pokegear began buzzing in her pocket.

"Were you asleep? It's the middle of the afternoon, you should be out training," came Colette's voice, sounding perky as ever.

"Had work early, didn't sleep much last night, what are you the sleep police?" Amelia said, slowly emerging from her stupor.

"Well I feel like if I didn't stay on your case about it you would just sleep through the whole day. Do you want to meet me out on Route 2 to start training some? That is as long as it doesn't interfere with your rigorous sleep schedule," Colette said.

Amelia stifled another yawn, "Yeah that sounds good, I'll meet you in a half hour let's say."

"Try not to fall back asleep okay drowzee?" Colette said.

"Shut up, I'll see you in 30," Amelia hung up.

Amelia changed out of her work pants into a pair of green capris, and threw on a black zip-up hoodie. She transferred her pokeballs into her backpack with the rest of her gear, and then rushed downstairs, whistling for Growlithe, who himself seemed to have been napping behind the L-shaped couch in the living room, but came trotting along behind her when she called. As she walked Amelia gradually shook the last vestiges of her sleep confusion off, and her pace steadily increased. Drowzee indeed! If anything, Amelia had begun to suspect that Colette _never _slept, and was perhaps some manner of robot.

Living up to that expectation, Colette was already waiting for Amelia by the time she reached the fields near the forest. Her new Pikachu was running laps around the clearing, while Spearow paced him. Colette had created what looked like a sling, so that Spearow could carry Metapod under him while he flew.

"I guess you got a head start on me. Having Spearow do some weight training huh?" Amelia said.

"I thought it would be a good workout for him, and at least it gets Metapod moving. Evolving bug-types from their middle cocoon stage is tricky. I've done some research and it seems like everyone has their own way that they're convinced is best for the job," Colette said.

"Seems as good a method as any. Let's get my guys out there too!" Amelia said.

She reached for her belt and activated each of the three pokeballs there, letting out Weedle, Pidgey, and finally Bulbasaur. Growlithe joined them, barking hello to them cheerfully.

"Okay, Pidgey, why don't you see if you can keep up with Spearow while he's flying around and... could you carry Weedle on your back?" Pidgey chirped an affirmative. Weedle inched with determination onto his back, before Pidgey took wing, and fell into formation beside Spearow.

"Growlithe and Bulbasaur, why don't you try and catch up to Pikachu and run some laps with him?" Amelia said.

Growlithe bounded off immediately, but Bulbasaur remained unmoving, and watched Amelia with a set expression.

"Not gonna budge huh? How about if I run with you? It wouldn't be fair if you guys were doing all the work. What do you think?" Amelia said.

Bulbasaur grumbled what she took to be grudging consent, and Amelia smiled. Grudging consent was better than none.

"Are you going to join us Colette?" Amelia said as she went through warm up exercises.

"No I'm going to be watching Marill over at the pond while he practices diving and swimming. It's good experience for him, but I don't like him to do it alone. I'll just be over there," Colette indicated the nearby pond.

"Okay, I'll keep an eye on these guys while we workout. We'll see how long I can keep up with them!"

As Colette headed to the pond with Marill, Amelia jogged after Growlithe. Bulbasaur trundled along behind her, and she slowed her pace so he could keep up. Amelia noted that Colette's Pikachu was very fast, and even after a dozen laps around the field, which was fairly large, he showed no sign of slowing his rapid rate of movement. Growlithe chased after him, but could simply not equal Pikachu's speed. Amelia shouted encouragement, to Growlithe and Bulbasaur, who continued to run after her with dogged persistence. Weedle seemed to greatly enjoy flying through the air on Pidgey's back, and stood with his front half upright as Pidgey glided after Spearow, who now began to tire, which was no surprise, given that the Metapod he was carrying probably weighed more than him.

After about 20 minutes at the jog that Amelia was sustaining she slowed to a brisk walking pace, and Bulbasaur seemed relieved to do so as well. Spearow had landed five minutes earlier, finally exhausted from his circuits, and this left just Growlithe, still chasing after Pikachu, despite both of them clearly becoming increasingly fatigued. Finally, after another five minutes they too came to a halt, Pikachu sitting exhausted on the ground, and Growlithe rolling over onto his side, his tongue lolled out.

Amelia heard a rustling nearby, and gasped when she realized that something was digging through her backpack where she'd left it in the grass.

"Growlithe, scare whatever's in my bag away!" Amelia shouted to him.

Growlithe rolled back onto his feet, barking and advancing, but was pre-empted by Bulbasaur, who bounded over to the backpack and growled threateningly. _He might be slow to cooperate, but he sure likes to fight. What a grumpy little guy he is._

A head popped out of the bag, a purple colored mouse with prominent front teeth.

"A rattata! Bulbasaur, kick his butt out of there!" Amelia said.

Bulbasaur clearly didn't need encouragement. He lashed out with his vine tendrils, grabbing the rattata before it could escape the bag, and throwing it viciously to the ground. It bounced end over end onto the grass, before righting itself and facing Bulbasaur again. The rattata had clearly taken the attack personally, and was now squaring itself for a fight.

"That was good Bulbasaur! Give him another taste of your vine whips!" Amelia said.

Bulbasaur, paying her no heed, let loose with a flurry of razor sharp leaves. The rattata swiftly dodged the attack, and dashed at Bulbasaur, closing to attack range.

"No he's too fast for razor leaf to be effective! You can still get him with your vines if you hurry!" Amelia said.

This time Bulbasaur decided to listen, sweeping at the rattata with his two vines. The rattata managed to dodge the first, but was snagged by the second, and then wrapped in both.

"Good, now constrict him!" Amelia said.

This was redundant, as that was already what Bulbasaur was doing. The rattata struggled to get free, but Bulbasaur only tightened his grip, finally hurling the rattata once again. This time it came skidding to the ground, clearly beaten. The rattata struggled to its feet, stuck its tongue out at Bulbasaur, and then bounded quickly into the grass. Bulbasaur looked immensely satisfied with the outcome.

"What was that all about, did I miss a fight?" Colette said as she ran across the field with a water covered Marill in tow.

"Just a rattata foraging in my backpack, doesn't look like he had the chance to ruin anything in here, thanks to Bulbasaur," Amelia said, as she dug through the contents of her bag. Bulbasaur seemed pleased with this assessment as well.

"Man those things get into everything if you look away for even a second. How did my guys do?" Colette asked.

"Pretty well, no one could keep up with Pikachu, and I was surprised at how long Spearow could carry Metapod. Let's have them take a short break, and then... doubles?" Amelia suggested.

"That could be fun, and now we have enough pokemon to do it! It'll be a good way for them to get used to each other too. Okay, let's take 15 and then it's on!"


	6. Chapter 6

-6-

Amelia laid out some snacks for her pokemon; the container she'd kept them in had resisted the rattata's predations. She was excited, even if the battle was just going to be another practice bout with Colette, they had never had enough pokemon to do a doubles battle. She would have to be smart about how she paired up her pokemon if she wanted to have a chance. Weedle seemed to get along well with Pidgey, maybe they would work well together. Amelia was worried about Bulbasaur working well with _any_ of the other three, so it seemed smart to put him with Growlithe, who was friendly and reliable enough to offset the surly Bulbasaur.

Colette seemed to be engaging in a similar process. It looked as if she planned to pair Spearow with Metapod, and Marill with Pikachu. Marill and Pikachu were both fast, which would make for a tough fight for Growlithe who was of average speed at best, and Bulbasaur, who was just plain slow. Still, that would have to be the team, as Amelia wanted to match flyer for flyer for a change. She especially didn't want to put her poor Pidgey up against Pikachu, who would bolt the hapless bird right out of the air.

Amelia clapped her hands, "Okay guys, huddle up. I'm going to pair you up for this fight. This should be a good chance for us to show our stuff, but it's just practice, so just do your best. Weedle, Pidgey, you're going to be teaming up, and Growlithe you're going to be pairing with Bulbasaur. Are you ready?"

There was general agreement. Growlithe barked fiercely, Weedle hopped slightly off the ground, Pidgey chirped an affirmative, and Bulbasaur made a grumbling noise to indicate his grudging consent. Amelia walked over to tell Colette they were ready.

"Okay, my team's ready when you are," Amelia said.

"How do you want to run this, last pokemon standing, or two fixed teams most pokemon left wins?" Colette asked.

"Most tournaments favor the latter, so let's do that," Amelia said. There were many different rules for doubles battles, but the two most common were to either keep subbing in new pokemon, while never having more than two to a side out at once, until one side was out of pokemon, or to have set teams of two pokemon each, acting as a single unit. In the case of the latter, scoring was done by margin of victory per pair: two points if one pair defeated the other without losing a pokemon themselves, one if they defeated the opposing pair but one of their pair was also defeated. The common practice was three pairs of pokemon per trainer.

"Sounds good to me, let's get started! Spearow, Metapod, you're up!" Colette backed up a safe distance to give orders.

Amelia followed suit, "Pidgey, Weedle, you're up first! Weedle, ride on Pidgey's back like before. Pidgey, get some altitude!"

"Spearow, grab Metapod and try and get above Pidgey for the dive-bomb like we've been practicing!" Colette called from the edge of the clearing.

Pidgey beat his wings in furious ascent, with Weedle latched firmly to his back. Spearow followed suit, but was slightly slower because of the Metapod he was carrying. The two bird pokemon maneuvered in twisting dives and wheeling pursuit, each trying to stay above the other. Pidgey had a slight speed advantage, and so managed to flap above the encumbered Spearow.

"Pidgey, get in close so Weedle can jump onto Spearow!" Amelia called.

Pidgey swooped in close, despite the evasive twists and turns of Spearow. When Weedle saw his moment, he inched and then dropped off of Pidgey, landing on top of the evading Spearow, and suctioning onto his back.

"You've got him! Quick Weedle, use your poison sting!" Amelia said.

Weedle's eyes screwed up in focus and he jabbed at Spearow's back. Spearow cawed in distress and dove into a corkscrew, trying to shuck Weedle off his back. Weedle gripped stubbornly on, risking a second sting. This second attack had its desired effect; Spearow lost even more altitude in his desperate attempts to shake Weedle off his back, rolling as he dove. This finally threw Weedle off, and he tumbled end over end, landing in the grass.

"Pidgey, he's open, hit him fast and hard!" Amelia shouted.

Pidgey took advantage of the clear shot, and struck Spearow laterally in mid-flight with a quick attack. Rather than attempt to right himself, Spearow swooped still lower towards the ground.

"Spearow, take Weedle out of the fight with Metapod! Metapod use harden!" Colette said.

Spearow swooped over where Weedle had landed, releasing Metapod as he passed overhead. Metapod struck Weedle like a green missile, knocking him senseless through the grass, where he rolled to a stop, clearly finished.

Amelia grimaced and unclipped Weedle's pokeball, "Weedle, return! Pidgey, you still have the advantage; hit Spearow with another quick attack!"

Pidgey wheeled about through the air and swooped down again at Spearow, who was still trying finishing his strafing pass, once again ascending.

"Look out Spearow, Pidgey's coming back around! Peck at him if he gets too close!" Colette said.

Her command was too late however; Pidgey was already closing in, striking talons first at Spearow. The two grappled through the end, flailing in an out of control spin, Spearow lashing out with talon and beak, trying to take Pidgey down. After deadly moments of midair struggle, Pidgey broke free, flapping to regain balance. Spearow was not so lucky, too out of control and going too fast, he crashed with sufficient force to kick up dirt and rocks, bouncing first and then rolling to a stop.

"Damn! Spearow return!" Colette recalled Spearow with his pokeball.

"You want to recall Metapod and call him beat? There's no reason for him to get beat up for nothing," Amelia said.

Colette shook her head, "Metapod isn't done yet! Metapod, use harden!"

Amelia shrugged, "Okay then, Pidgey, swoop down and peck Metapod until he gives up!"

Pidgey crowed and glided in, picking up speed as he angled in on the spot where Metapod hid in the grass.

"Okay Metapod, he's close enough, get his wings with string shot!" Colette ordered.

Metapod complied, firing a string of silk web from the tip of his green pod-nose. The entangling thread would normally serve as only a nuisance to slow a pokemon down, but at the high speed Pidgey was moving, it caused him to lose balance, and veer to the left, crashing to the ground much as Spearow had minutes earlier.

Amelia lamented her overconfidence. She had forgotten that many metapods retained their ability to fire silk webbing at high speeds, from when they were in their earlier caterpie stage. She had allowed her carelessness to cost what should have been a sure thing. If she wanted the match to end in anything better than a draw now, she would have to defeat Pikachu and Marill without losing Growlithe or Bulbasaur.

"Pidgey return," Amelia recalled Pidgey, and then, whistled.

"Growlithe, Bulbasaur, you're turn!" Amelia said, calling Bulbasaur and Growlithe from where they watched on the sidelines near her.

"Pikachu, Marill let's make it a clean win, are you guys ready?" Colette said. Pikachu and Marill squeaked their agreement and moved into the field.

Amelia was at a disadvantage and she knew it. She had only semi-reliable control of Bulbasaur, and she needed him to take Marill out of the fight early. Without Marill to knock out Growlithe, Amelia would easily be able to take down Pikachu, who while fast was probably not capable of taking more than one or two solid hits from Growlithe.

"Okay, Bulbasaur, up front to protect Growlithe from Marill, use your vines to try and grab him! Growlithe, keep Pikachu busy with your fire, but don't let him shock you," Amelia said.

"Pikachu, shock Bulbasaur, Marill try and get a clean angle to water gun Growlithe!" Colette said.

Pikachu nodded, and began sending arcing sparks at Bulbasaur. Amelia was confused at first, because Pikachu wasn't likely to do much to him, but quickly realized Colette's plan. Bulbasaur was immediately distracted and angered by the shocks, and turned his attention to Pikachu, ignoring Marill. This left Growlithe open to attack.

Amelia was about to shout for Bulbasaur to stop, but realized that trying to goad him into the fight she wanted him in would waste valuable seconds. Instead she decided to go with the flow, even if it was contrary to her initial plan.

"Growlithe, try and force Pikachu towards Bulbasaur, so he can vine whip him!" Amelia said.

Growlithe barked in agreement, and Bulbasaur trundled forward, whipping leafy tendrils at Pikachu, who deftly evaded. Growlithe's flames scorched the grassy field, corralling Pikachu in closer to Bulbasaur however, and finally one of his lashing vine whips struck Pikachu. Marill took advantage of their preoccupation however, and puffed up like an overfilled water balloon, before spraying a torrent of water in the direction of Growlithe.

"Growlithe look out! Roll like we practiced!" Amelia said.

Amelia was used to fighting Colette's Marill with Growlithe, and so had practiced special evasion maneuvers with him. Growlithe dropped to the ground and rolled in a practiced instinctive motion, evading the torrent of rushing water. With Growlithe distracted, Pikachu attempted to get away from Bulbasaur again, but was caught by the hind leg by one vine whip, and then quickly snagged around the body by the other.

Colette could see the battle turning against her, with Pikachu now caught by Bulbasaur, "Pikachu, use thunder shock to try and break free!"

Amelia had a sudden idea, "Bulbasaur quick, throw Pikachu at Marill!"

Bulbasaur seemed to like the doubly destructive notion of throwing one opponent at the other, and so wound up with his vines, and whipped them back around, propelling Pikachu at high speed towards Marill. Pikachu was released from Bulbasaur's grip in mid electrical discharge, and the energy shot wildly around him in the air, striking the ground mostly without harm. Except for the ground near Marill.

The large water attack Marill had unleashed had left a streaming trail of water leading back to him. Pikachu was still desperately arcing electricity in all directions as he collided with Marill, shocking him and knocking him over at the same time. Both pokemon crashed to the ground knocked senseless, with Pikachu bruised and Marill clearly hurt from the electric attack.

"They're down, now finish it! Growlithe use ember and Bulbasaur use razor leaf!" Amelia said.

Bulbasaur hunkered down, and let loose with a cloud of gleaming sharp leaves, while Growlithe barked a cloud of fire. The leaves impacted first, striking Marill and Pikachu with their sharp edges moments before Growlithe's fire set them ablaze. When they had burned up moments later, it was clear that neither Marill nor Pikachu were in any condition to fight anymore.

"Shoot! What a disaster. Sorry guys, Marill and Pikachu, return!" Colette called both her pokemon back, with a pokeball in each hand.

Amelia clapped and cheered for her team, "Good job, you guys did amazing!"

Colette's shoulders sagged, "That was quick thinking, using my Pikachu to practically volt tackle his own teammate. Well you win fair and square 2-1. Good match."

"It was, that was a good move with Metapod too, it caught me totally by surprise. What say we call it a day and give our pokemon a rest?" Amelia said.

"Sounds good to me. I'd say we got a good afternoon worth of training in," Colette said.

"Good job Bulbasaur!" Amelia said, recalling him to his pokeball. He acknowledged her with a curt nod of his head before disappearing into a cloud of red energy, which was drawn back into his pokeball. Well, that was progress, she supposed.

Growlithe rushed over to Amelia, and she knelt down to pet him, "You did great buddy, just like we practiced. Now let's go home!" Growlithe barked and licked Amelia's face.

Amelia, Growlithe and Colette walked back into town, stopping at the pokemon center to heal their battered team members before parting ways and heading home. Amelia was in high spirits; not only had her pokemon gained some good experience, she felt as if she had also. Learning to judge a chaotic situation and make the best decision was the a continuing process, and she felt like she was getting a little bit better at it. The day was winding down now, and dusk was shifting to night, the streetlights coming on one by one as Amelia walked the last bit of the way home. Her pokegear vibrated and she saw that it was a message from her mother, saying she would be home late again.

Amelia flopped onto the couch, and Growlithe jumped up as well, settling around her feet. She stared at the high wood ceiling and let her mind drift. Everyone had done a good job today, even Bulbasaur had helped out. Weedle would probably have to sit out the tournament, which was too bad, because he was so enthusiastic, but Amelia wasn't about to throw an inch-worm with a sharp end into a real battle. Amelia felt Growlithe snoring lightly and she considered briefly that Colette would probably have a choice remark about the similarities between pokemon and trainer.

Amelia yawned and stood up, padding her way to the sliding door at the back of the house, opening it and stepping out onto the back porch. Her house was on a hill, so from her porch she could see much of the city, lighting up as night set in. The night air was cool and she smiled as she leaned against the porch bannister. Amelia could hear what she assumed was a Hoothoot somewhere in the distance. She and Colette still hadn't decided how long and how far they would travel after the tournament, but she knew she would miss this town.

_Well it's not like I won't be back,_ she thought.


	7. Chapter 6X: Darren's Story I

-6.5: Darren's Story I-

It was early afternoon, the sun partially covered by light clouds as Darren pedaled down the road on his bike. It was warm enough out that Darren had stashed his coat in his backpack and rolled up the sleeves of his button-down but was still working up a light sweat. Viridian City was fairly hilly in parts, and that made for occasionally grueling bike rides.

Darren was headed to the Viridian City Pokemon Gym, which was located in the northeast corner of the town, near the fields that bordered the vast Viridian Forest. Pokemon gyms existed in most major cities, or occasionally in towns that just happened to be home to a large enough contingent of organized, dedicated trainers. They served a multitude of purposes, the most important of which was to act as milestones for trainers attempting to earn admittance to Pokemon League tournaments. Gyms typically championed a particular type of pokemon, as their "gym type" though there were several that specialized instead in several different types, or a specific battle strategy or philosophy. Gyms that were accredited by the Pokemon League had the right to issue badges to trainers who completed the Gym's challenge requirement; badges from any eight gyms would allow entry into a League tournament. The gym leaders typically scaled the challenge based on the number of badges the challenger already had, though there were a few purist leaders who always forced challengers to face their strongest pokemon. Darren himself had earned one badge, by defeating the Gym leader of Cerulean City in her chosen battlefield.

Gyms also acted as places where aspiring trainers could compete in an unofficial setting, could take advantage of controlled battlefields and high quality training facilities, and could receive instruction or advice from more experienced trainers. As a requirement, any gym accredited by the League was open to the public, but most gyms also had dedicated members who trained under the gym leader and sometimes assisted in administering gym challenges.

Darren got off his bike as he coasted up the drive that led to the gym, walking his bike to the row of bike racks to one side of the main building. He clicked his bike lock into place, and adjusted his backpack as he walked away, heading for the large double doors to the gym. Viridian City specialized in Normal-type pokemon. This was the designation for pokemon that displayed no particular special or elemental attributes. Despite that declared specialization, many of the trainers who were members of the gym, especially the gym leader, trained pokemon that possessed a variety of special moves that were concealed by the bland "normal-type" designation. The last time he'd attempted the gym challenge, the gym leader's Ratticate had finished Darren's last pokemon with a surprise Ice attack.

There was no standard layout to a pokemon gym, so they varied wildly in their size and arrangement. The Viridian Gym was made up of a number of smaller spaces for battling, all connected to a large main room divided into several arenas. There were also several outside training and battle spaces that were used mostly for battle in adverse conditions when the weather was bad. Various classes and events were held throughout the week at the gym, but during the week in the middle of the day the gym was mostly left open for free use.

Darren entered through the large central room, greeting several gym regulars as he headed for the track. He liked to bring his Luxio to the track to run whenever he got the chance; Luxio enjoyed running and it was good endurance training.

He put his bag down near the track, and let out his Luxio, a large cat-like pokemon with blue fur and a small black mane of around its face. Darren settled onto the ground and watched as Luxio ran gracefully around the track, clearly enjoying itself, trying to outrun other pokemon on the track. He observed the other trainers, some of whom were practice battling, others of whom were training their pokemon solo. Darren preferred to train his pokemon by himself, taking his own even pace to things.

From where he was watching, Darren overheard a conversation nearby. Three trainers who he recognized as regulars from town were speaking loudly; one in particular seemed to be the center of attention.

"So then she starts acting all tough, saying she's entering the tournament and it sounded like she was expecting to win! It's hilarious, I'm pretty sure until a few days ago she only had the one Pokemon too, who is she trying to kid?" The guy said.

Darren recognized him. His name was Aaron, and Darren didn't remotely like him. Darren was not usually one to take a strong dislike to _anyone_ but Aaron was an exception. He seemed to spend more time talking down other people than he did training at the gym, and that was something that really got under Darren's skin.

Aaron continued his tirade, "That Amelia's always trying to look tough, and act like she's a big shot. We'll see how tough she is once I wipe the floor with her at the open!"

Before he was even fully aware of it, Darren was on his feet and storming towards the conversation.

"Hey, that's about enough out of you! All I ever seem to see you doing in here is talking smack about everyone else. Who the hell do you think you are?" Darren practically shouted.

Aaron looked over, surprised, "Whoa, chill out man, I don't even know you. I'm not looking for a fight."

"Well the girl you're putting down happens to be a friend of mine, so you've found a fight. If you think you're such a tough guy yourself, why don't you put your money where your mouth is? Three on three battle right here and now. Someone who has time to stand around bragging must be a real tough trainer right?" Darren said.

Aaron snorted, "I see, so this is about a girl. What, you're going to whip me and what be a big hero?"

"This is about my _friend,_ and showing you that your time would be better spent training your own pokemon. So how 'bout it, put your money where your mouth is," Darren said.

Aaron considered a moment, and then nodded, "Alright, let's do it then. Three vs. three, fixed or shift?"

Darren took a moment to consider. Fixed battle meant that each pokemon would fight each other pokemon and the trainer who won 2 out of 3 of the match-ups would win. Shift battle meant that pokemon could be swapped out, and the battle would only end when all the pokemon on one side were defeated. Many tournaments mandated fixed battling, so that a trainer could not rely on a single very strong pokemon, requiring a trainer to bring a balanced team. In contrast, shift style allowed for more strategic battle in terms of type matching, and sometimes made for very interesting battle between matched opponents.

"Your choice, that way no complaining if you lose," Darren said finally.

"Fine, fixed battle then. Best two out of three. We'll do it right in the open battle space over there, no one's using it right now," Aaron said.

"Agreed. Luxio, training time's over, we've got a fight on our hands!" Darren called over to the track, where his Luxio had still been running; while she was loyal, Darren found his Luxio's demeanor aloof at best. Luxio trotted over to his side, and followed him to the open battle space that Aaron had indicated.

Aaron settled his belongings on the far side of the space, and his friends stood off to the side where they could watch. Others began to gather as well, having heard the heated exchange between the two trainers. He reached for a pokeball on his belt, and palmed it.

"Ready when you are pal," Aaron sneered.

Darren's habit of watching other trainers in the gym was not recent, and he had watched Aaron bullying newer trainers, so he knew that he tended to field his team in a particular order. He would lead off with Murkrow, his weakest pokemon, and save his ringer for last. So that was just what Darren would do.

"Call your pokemon out then, I've already got mine! Luxio, show time!" Darren said.

Aaron's mouth set into a grim line, "Murkrow, come out!"

A black, crow like bird with plumage on its head resembling a hat and tail feathers that looked like a broom head emerged. It flapped its wings a bit and settled onto the ground, regarding Luxio with a doleful gaze.

"Murkrow, off the ground, make the first move! Move in hit Luxio!" Aaron said.

Faster than Darren would have expected, Murkrow rushed forward, sucker punching Luxio, and sending it sprawling to the side. Luxio stumbled

"Luxio, use flash to blind Murkrow and get back on your feet! Don't let your guard down!" Darren said.

Luxio rolled to her feet and let out a blinding flash of electrical energy, causing Murkrow to recoil and fly blindly away, veering sharply toward the ground.

"Don't lose the forward momentum Murkrow, wing attack!" Aaron said.

"You've got this Luxio, use thunder fang and take him out!" Darren shouted.

Murkrow swept in low and swiped with its wing, but came up short and was caught in Luxio's closing, electrified jaws. Murkrow squawked in agony as it attempted to get away, but convulsed and then tumbled to the floor as Luxio spat it out. Murkrow writhed for a moment and then lay still on the ground.

Darren smiled, "Going to have to do better than that if you want to take me down punk. Good job Luxio, take a break," Darren's Luxio prowled a short distance away and curled up on the floor, watching the proceedings coolly.

Aaron thumbed the activation button on his pokeball and recalled Murkrow, putting away the ball and retrieving a new one, "Nidorino, do better than Murkrow!"

The pokemon that emerged was a large and covered in purple natural armor with spikey protrusions across its body. It pawed the ground with one of its forelegs and snorted threateningly in Darren's direction.

_That's not a great matchup, but we'll have to try and make it work,_ "Staravia, you're on!" Darren tossed the pokeball he'd palmed, unleashing the streaking form of his black feathered Staravia, which circled and then beat its wings so it could hover over the battle space.

A fairly large crowd had begun to gather around what was clearly a serious battle. Other trainers watched with anticipation as the second round of the match began.

"Staravia, don't let that thing come to grips with you, use quick attacks to keep it at a distance!" Darren shouted.

Aaron laughed, "I don't think so, Nidorino, give that thing both back legs!"

Despite the high speed Staravia was swooping in at, Nidorino managed to pivot faster, and kicked out with both back legs before Staravia could abort its attack. Staravia attempted to veer off course, and so the first foot only grazed him. The second however solidly connected, and staggered Staravia.

"Staravia shake it off! Use double team to confuse him!" Darren said.

Staravia began a series of rapid course changes, rolls and feints; at such speed that it appeared there was two of him in the air near Nidorino. The purple horned beast swiped at the afterimages, but connected only with air.

"Okay, now Aerial Ace!" Darren said.

"Nidorino, stab him with your horn!" Aaron shouted.

Staravia swooped in with a dazzling show of skill, as Nidorino barreled forward. The two crossed paths and met with catastrophic force before they were past each other. Nidorino stopped its charge and skidded to a halt, turning to face Staravia, injured but still standing. Staravia rapidly lost altitude, and collided with the ground, rolling and then feebly attempting to right itself before collapsing to the ground.

Darren grimaced; Staravia's crash-landing had looked grisly. He held out the pokeball to recover him, "Staravia, that's enough, return!"

Aaron laughed, "I thought you were going to teach me a lesson? You're going to have to step up your game if you plan to take me out; I saved the best for last. Come on out Arbok!"

Aaron released his third pokeball, and its red energy coalesced into a large purple serpent, a massive cobra with vicious looking fangs. The snake shot forward into the battle space, baring its fangs and hissing a threat.

"That makes two of us then. Let me show you what I learned at the Cerulean City Gym. Starmie, your turn!" Darren said.

His pokeball opened to reveal a large purple pokemon that appeared to be two starfish laid on top of one another, with a large gem in the center of the front segment. Starmie hovered over the air as if suspended by wires, defying gravity. Aaron was clearly dismayed, and his face set into a sneer.

"Don't waste any time, move in and douse that thing in your acid!" Aaron shouted.

Arbok shot forward, and then reared, spraying the area in front of it with a cloud of corrosive, deadly acid. The spectators recoiled and backed up as the massive serpent attacked.

"Starmie, use your light shield to guard!" Darren said.

Starmie appeared to vibrate briefly, and a dazzling dome of light surrounded it, dissipating the harshest portions of the acid cloud around it.

"Don't let up Arbok, move in and give that thing a taste of your poisonous fangs!" Aaron said.

Arbok coiled and then sprang into the air, diving at Starmie, still behind its light wall.

"Starmie, use telekinesis and show him who's boss!" Darren said.

The rose colored gem in the center of Starmie glowed brightly as it gathered energy, and Arbok came to a dead halt in mid-air. It writhed and snapped furiously, attempting to escape the invisible force that held it in place. Aaron's eyes were wild, as he felt the match slipping away from him.

"Quick, use your acid again, don't just float there you stupid snake attack!" he shouted.

"Finish it, Starmie, Hyper Beam!" Darren said.

Starmie's gem gleamed white hot, to the point that the crowd which had gathered had to cover their eyes or look away. A massive, fierce energy beam fired straight up at the suspended Arbok, blasting it out of the air and leaving it smoking, motionless on the ground. Observers could see that the after-blast of the attack had left a scorch mark on the distant ceiling. Aaron stood dumbfounded for a moment before wordlessly recalling his defeated Arbok.

"If you spent as much time training as you did talking smack, you'd be a real threat you know?" Darren said finally.

"Tch, whatever man. You might've won but that doesn't make you the league champ or something. Besides no matter how bad you beat me, it won't help Amelia if she comes up head to head against me," Aaron said.

"Maybe not, but I guarantee you that right now she's somewhere training her pokemon her hardest while you're wasting time bad-mouthing her. If I was a betting man, I'd put my money on her to win that match. You might want to think about how you're spending your time before the tournament a little more carefully," Darren said.

Aaron regarded him for a moment, narrowing his eyes in bitterness, before scoffing and picking up his bag.

"I'm out of here, I don't come to the gym to get lectured by some know-it-all" He said, walking away.

"Heh. I think that's the first time anyone's ever called me _that_," Darren said.

He waited for his Starmie to hover to his side, before kneeling down to pat it appreciatively.

"Well fought, and thanks for not blowing a hole in the ceiling this time," Darren said. Starmie bent forward in what looked like a bow. Darren recalled her to her pokeball.

The crowd of onlookers had dispersed in the wake of the battle, and Darren quickly made his way from the battle space. He hadn't intended to make a spectacle, but should have realized that would be the outcome of such an obvious grudge match during the slowest part of the day.

"Come on Luxio, let's go get some fresh air, then I'll make you lunch at home how's that sound?" Darren said.

Luxio nodded a vague, condescending sort of assent, before stalking nimbly over to him. Darren recalled her to her pokeball as well, then shouldered his backpack and headed for the exit.


	8. Chapter 7

-7-

When Amelia woke up Thursday morning, it was to the patter of rain on her windowsill. The week's training had gone well, and she was starting to feel like her new team members were really coming along. Bulbasaur was still surly and reluctant to obey, but he was at least willing to battle, and that gave Amelia something to work with. Amelia raised her arm in front of her face to check her watch. 9 a.m.

She swung her feet off her bed onto the hardwood floor, swiping at her eyes blearily. Thunder rumbled distantly, as she surveyed the room absently. Amelia's bed sat in the corner of her room, under the window, with a trunk at its foot and the door next to that. Her closet was against the wall adjacent to the door and a dresser and bookshelf stood in the corner against the wall opposite her bed. The dresser had several drawers open with clothes spilling out of them, and this disarray was mirrored by the desk next to the bookshelf, covered in papers and other junk. A small TV stood on a stand kiddy-cornered next to the desk, and Growlithe's bed sat next to that, by Amelia's nightstand. Growlithe snored lightly, curled up in his bed, growling faintly at the rumbling thunder.

Amelia trudged listlessly to her closet in her flannel pajama pants and black tank-top, putting on a green button down shirt to offset the chill in the house. She went out of her room, across the hall and into the bathroom, splashing water on her face, and brushing her teeth. When she turned the water off, she heard the sound of her pokegear ringing and vibrating on her desktop. She hurried back to her room and pushed aside some papers, so she could answer. The call was from her mother.

"Amelia, Are you at the house right now?" her mother said.

Amelia suppressed a yawn, "Yeah I was just getting up; do you need something?"

"Yes actually, I left some of my research papers on my desk at home, if you aren't working today could you bring them to me at the lab?" her mother said.

"Yeah, I'll catch the next train; I should be able to get there around 10:30. Will that be okay?" Amelia said.

"Yes that'll work out fine; I won't need them until the afternoon anyway. Thanks sweetie I'll see you in a bit!" Amelia's mother said before hanging up.

Amelia put her phone back on her desk and went to her closet to get changed. It wasn't a long ride to Pewter City, so she didn't have to rush to arrive by the proposed deadline. After jumping into pants and finding her umbrella, she decided to give Colette a call.

"Hey, what's up? Kind of early for you to be swinging into action on a non-work day isn't it?" Colette said.

"Guilty as charged. My mom just called asking me to deliver some papers to her at work. Want to take a trip to Pewter with me?" Amelia said.

"Hmm… sure I don't see why not, I don't have anything to do this morning, I can keep you company. Are you leaving soon?" Colette said.

"I'll probably head out soon, I told her I'd try to get there by 10:30. I'll meet you at the train station around 9:35. Next train leaves at 9:45 so that should give us plenty of time. Is that too soon though?" Amelia asked.

"No that's fine; I'm already up and just about ready. I'll see you then," Colette said.

Amelia grabbed her backpack, and paused considering, before settling on bringing her pokemon as well. _Probably won't get the chance to let them out for exercise with today's weather, but why not._ By this time Growlithe had roused himself and was trundling downstairs to await food. Amelia descended the stairs, and rather than turning left towards the living room and kitchen, she first went through the open doorway to the right, heading into her mother's study. Her desk strongly resembled Amelia's covered in various papers and notes. Despite that, Amelia quickly identified the papers in question: they had been collated and placed in a clear plastic folder, and lay on top of the other general paper debris. Amelia took the folder and put it in her backpack, and then headed back out to the living room, leaving her bag by the sofa next to the door and her shoes.

Amelia put food in Growlithe's bowl, and after a moment decided to feed the rest of her pokemon as well. While they spent substantially less time out of their pokeballs than Growlithe, and thus usually only needed to eat about once a day, it would be nice to feed everyone at once while she ate breakfast. Amelia let everyone out, and set out a bowl of food for Bulbasaur next to Growlithe, a bowl of seed on the counter next to her for Pidgey, and a small plate of tiny berries for Weedle. She poured a bowl of cereal for herself, eating quickly as rain continued to pound against her window. Bulbasaur grumbled as he ate, and Amelia marveled at how she had somehow managed to catch the grumpiest pokemon in existence.

"Okay gang, all ready to get going?" Amelia asked. She observed the empty bowls and one by one, returned her pokemon to their pokeballs, save Growlithe, who having finished his food now waited by the door. Amelia put the smaller food dishes into the sink ran some water over them, and checked her watch: 9:25. _I should still make it on time if I hurry._ Grabbing her umbrella, she headed out the door with Growlithe following her, staying very close to her to try and stay under her umbrella and out of the rain.

Amelia's house was a relatively short walk from the rail station, though the rain made the walk seem longer. It wasn't cold, given the time of year, but Amelia was starting to regret not bringing a jacket by the time the station was in sight. It was a bit windy, and the rain didn't look to be letting up; the sky was so dark it almost looked like night out.

"Hey there you are! I was worried you might not catch the train in time, what kept you?" Colette called down from the platform.

Amelia ran up the stairs so that she was standing under the awning and closed her umbrella, shaking it out in a futile attempt to dry it, "I had to feed everyone before I left, it took longer than I expected, sorry. Still have a little time before the train shows up, so no big deal right?"

"Sure, it would have just been funny if I was the only one who was on time; I mean it's your trip! Aren't you kind of chilly by the way just wearing that shirt?" Colette said.

"A little but I'll be alright, we shouldn't be spending too much time outside either," Amelia said.

A voice announced the imminent arrival of the train. Moments later a sleek chrome train pulled into the station, opening its doors to allow passengers to get on and off. Amelia and Colette boarded, with Growlithe in tow. They paid the conductor as she came by, Amelia paying a small upcharge for Growlithe, and then took seats next to each other on the left side of the train. The storm was really raging now, and Amelia could barely see anything out of the windows as the train pulled out of the station.

"Jeez what a miserable day it is. Too bad we had to take a trip today don't you think?" Colette said.

"I guess. I don't really mind it so much, so long as it isn't really cold," Amelia said.

The train shook, lit only by the glow of the car's interior lights, as it plunged into the deeper gloom of Viridian Forest.

"So do you have any idea what it is that your mom is having you deliver?" Colette asked.

"I didn't think to ask, I assume it has to do with the research that she's been working on for the past few months. I guess a new dig unearthed pokemon fossils, so the museum has been studying them to try and determine what kind of pokemon they were," Amelia said.

"Wow that's so cool! Like that movie where they use fossilized pokemon DNA to revive a massive, prehistoric pokemon that rampages through Celadon City!" Colette said.

"I feel like it's probably a lot less dramatic than that, not to spoil all your dreams," Amelia said.

After minutes traveling through the almost complete darkness of the forest, the train emerged once more into the furious rain. Amelia stared out the window watching dense forest giving way to sparser tree cover and hills, with mountains looming in the near distance. Unlike Viridian City, which sat at the edge of a vast forest, Pewter was nestled at the foot of Mt. Moon, and was surrounded by cliffs leading into the mountains. It was not long before the train began to pass the houses on the edges of the city, many of them made of the gray stone that had given Pewter City its name.

The train came to a shuddering halt as it pulled up to the platform, shaking Amelia from her reverie. She shouldered her backpack and strode down the aisle and off the train into the damp gloom, opening her umbrella once she was outside; Colette followed suit.

"Well it doesn't look like this rain's letting up any time soon, we may as well press on, it's a pretty short walk from the station anyhow," Amelia said.

Colette followed her down the stairs from the train platform and out onto the cobblestone sidewalk, passing the windowed facades of stores and offices. Amelia led them to the foot of the hills and mountains where the museum was located. The Pewter City pokemon museum itself was a large complex of modern looking buildings arranged in a haphazard fashion, as if they had spontaneously sprung up over time. Amelia's mother had told her that the museum had previously been a much smaller building, but it had expanded several times to accommodate the growing needs of the researchers there.

Colette and Amelia entered through large automatic double doors, and were greeted by a man at the front desk Amelia recognized.

"Good morning Amelia, what brings you to the museum today?" He said.

"Good morning George, mom just needed me to drop off something she left at home," Amelia answered.

"I think she should be up in the lab right now, I'll call ahead so they know to let you in." George said.

"Thanks so much, I'll see you later," Amelia said.

Colette and Growlithe followed Amelia past the front lobby, which was a modern, minimal room of matte whites, and into a side hall with several elevators. Amelia pressed the button and after a moment they boarded an elevator, bound for the third floor. When they exited the elevator they stood in a quiet linoleum-tiled hallway, with several heavy looking locked metal doors along its length. Amelia led the way to the door at the end of the hall, and pressed a call button.

"Hello, this is Amelia Winters, I'm here to deliver something to my mom," she said in the direction of the speaker.

The speaker made a popping sound, and then a male voice responded, "I'll buzz you in, one sec."

The latch on the metal door clicked, and Amelia led the way into the lab, a brightly lit space colored the same sterile white as the lobby, and filled with desks and instruments with uses Amelia could only guess at. Amelia's mother sat at a desk on the far side of the room, typing at a computer. She wore a white lab coat over her blouse and business-looking skirt, and had her hair up in a tight bun. She turned to face them and smiled over the thin rims of her almond shaped glasses.

"You're even a little early, who would have imagined! And you brought Colette with you, hello dear how have you been?" Amelia's mother said.

"I've been busy training with Amelia, but I'm good. I hope you don't mind me tagging along," Colette said.

"Of course not, I was the one who forgot her homework at home to begin with. I assume you found the report hon?" Amelia's mother asked.

"Yeah I have it right in my bag here," Amelia put her backpack on the floor and opened it up, retrieving the plastic folder and handing it over.

"Ah thanks so much for running this over! What're you girls planning to do with the rest of your afternoon?" Amelia's mother said.

"Hadn't really thought about it too much yet, I was thinking about maybe doing some shopping while we're here, but the weather's pretty foul, we might just head back," Amelia said.

"Well either way I'll be home in the early evening tonight, so I'll make dinner," Amelia's mother said.

"Sounds good! Colette I'm going to use their bathroom and then we can head out okay?" Amelia said.

"Alright I'll be waiting, what are you going with her?" Colette noticed Growlithe following Amelia.

Growlithe barked uneasily, "Okay you big baby, what does the storm still have you riled up?" Amelia said.

Growlithe followed her into the bathroom on the far side of the lab, when the heavy door slammed behind her; all sound was drowned out save the faint whirring of fans. When Amelia was done in the bathroom she stopped to look in the large mirror behind the sink as she watched her hands. She noticed in the reflection that Growlithe was facing the door, his hackles raised.

"What's gotten into you, what's the matter big guy?" Amelia asked.

Growlithe growled threateningly at the door, lowering himself toward the floor in a defensive posture. Amelia, now filled with apprehension, crept to the door, and cracked it open. She could hear the rush of fans much louder than in the bathroom blasting, and something else seemed very wrong. She edged the door open more and saw that all the room's previous occupants were motionless on the ground, and a man wearing a form fitting black outfit was rustling through papers, snatching them and piling what he found into a bag. The man was wearing a gas mask which hid his face, explained by a fading cloud of sickly yellow smoke filling the room.

Before she had made a conscious decision, Amelia was striding into the room. She coughed at the fumes still being dissipated by the fans, clearly a failsafe that had been activated. Growlithe bound forward to interpose himself between the man and Amelia.

"What do you think you're doing!?... And what did you do to everyone!?" Amelia shouted over the fans.

The man looked up in alarm, "Dammit, where the hell did you come from!"

An alarm began to sound, distracting the man again. Amelia's mother had managed to hit a button under one of the desks. She seemed drowsy, and Amelia suspected that the sluggishness she felt was related to whatever gas the man had used to knock everyone out. Not wasting time, the man turned and bolted for the door once the alarm was sounded. Filled with thoughtless rage, Amelia gave chase, with Growlithe bounding ahead of her.

"You're not going anywhere pal! Growlithe stop him!" Amelia shouted, running after the man.

Despite Growlithe's speed, the man had a considerable lead on them, and charged into a stairwell, heading up towards the building's roof. Amelia dodged an overturned garbage can and chased him into the stairwell, losing sight of him on the alternating staircases but hearing his echoing footfalls frantically ascending. She bolted up the stairs, taking them two at a time, and emerged the top landing to find the emergency roof access door flung open, the wind and rain battering in, lightning flashing before a sharp crack of thunder echoed through the stair well. Amelia rushed through the door, and the world went white, as the man struck out with a stiff forearm, clotheslining her and sending her tumbling to the drenched gravel of the roof, gasping for breath. The world moved in slow motion as she tried to sit up, her head swimming. She touched her hand to her scalp and found she was bleeding from her impact. Amelia staggered to her feet, and found Growlithe had pounced on her attacker. The man struggled for a moment, but managed to reach a pokeball on his belt, thumbing its activation button. The air on the roof instantly grew fouler as a large sludge covered creature emerged.

"Growlithe, careful, back off he has pokemon!" Amelia shouted. Growlithe halted his attack to dodge a filthy swiping limb from the sludge monster. Amelia recognized the three foot tall sludge creature as muk, a massive poison pokemon.

Amelia's mind raced. This wasn't a pokemon match; it was a real life or death fight, so it was no time to play fair. She reached for her belt and grabbed the second two pokeballs on it, her arms crossing one another as she threw them both.

"Bulbasaur, Pidgey, help Growlithe fight that muk!" Amelia shouted over the raging squall, squaring off against the man, who had removed his gas mask, to reveal a maliciously grinning face with long black hair plastered against it by rain, obscuring the man's dark eyes.

"Now that's not very fair! I guess I should do likewise. Let's see how your little baby pokemon handle a real fighter!" The man reached for a second and final pokeball from his belt, pressing its power button and releasing a behemoth that was heralded by a sudden redoubling of the storm. Amelia shielded her eyes against a sudden stinging. Before her towered a brutal looking, spined pokemon, its armor slick from the rain, its bulk looming over her by several feet.

Amelia gasped, "A tyranitar! Oh no…"

The beast stomped forward and bellowed defiantly, tearing up a segment off the roofing and hurling it towards Amelia's pokemon. The muk, which had been for a moment been simply overwhelmed by a three to one disadvantage, rallied as Amelia's pokemon scattered away from the attack.

Amelia looked frantically at the scene, and realized that she was rapidly losing any control she had on the situation. She grit her teeth and steeled herself for a fight. With the sandstorm the tyranitar was kicking up, and the massive disparities in power, she would have to be smart and fast if she and her pokemon had any chance.

"Growlithe, give that muk all the fire you can manage! Pidgey, keep dive-bombing it, we have to take it out of the fight fast! Bulbasaur, you'll have to try and distract that tyranitar!" She shouted.

For once, Bulbasaur did not seem to plan any dissent, realizing the immediate danger he was in. He released a furious barrage of razor leaves at tyranitar, which shied back from the flurry, roaring in bloodthirsty rage. Pidgey swooped through the savage skies, battered by the elements. Growlithe, setting himself against the storm, breathed in and belched his best fire spurt at the amorphous muk. Muk recoiled from the spirited assault, and swiped clumsily as Pidgey repeatedly struck it with lightning speed. The man scowled and shouted at his pokemon.

"Quit messing around! Tyranitar, use stone edge on that Growlithe and Muk sludge that annoying bird out of the sky!" He said.

The tyranitar stomped one of its armored feet into the roof, causing stones to shoot out before Amelia could shout a warning. Growlithe half dodged, but was caught by a second jagged stone, sending him sprawling onto the roof. Pidgey evaded repeated sprays of gunk before one caught him square on and taking him out of the sky with a pained squawk. Amelia watched in horror as Pidgey plummeted off the edge of the roof towards the ground, reaching frantically for his pokeball. By the time she activated the return beam, Pidgey had fallen out of sight.

"Finish it Tyranitar! Earthquake!" The man bellowed.

_Oh god, at this rate we're all going to die! _Amelia felt like she was trying to move through molasses, as she reached for the first pokeball on her belt. A fissure shot through the roof toward the prone Growlithe.

"No! Growlithe return!" Amelia shouted as she activated his seldom used pokeball, drawing him into its protective confines.

The roof was now split lengthwise, and Amelia stood alone with Bulbasaur against the tyranitar and muk. Distant shouts from the stairs caused the man to curse. He recalled his muk.

"Out of time… Tyranitar, kill that bulbasaur as thanks for the trouble," the man in black said.

Amelia, without thinking, rushed forward, throwing herself between bulbasaur and the hulking tyranitar, which swiped with a massive claw. She felt something break, and lancing hot pain across her body, as she was hurled aside, thrown bodily into the air. She watched with detached horror as the edge of the roof passed beneath her, but felt herself slowing oddly in the air, and watched with increasing confusion as she lowered back to the roof. The world became dark around the edges, a bitter howling the only thing in her ears. From the broken gravel of the roof, Amelia could see the shape of bulbasaur, planted defiantly in front of her. Amelia wondered absently if she was going to die, and realized she wasn't in pain anymore.

Then all she knew was darkness.


	9. Chapter 8

-8-

Amelia's first clue that she was alive was pain. She was motionless, and even with her eyes closed she could tell the room was dark. She opened her eyes slowly, and saw she was in a sparsely furnished hospital room, dimly lit by slanting lines of sunlight between heavy blinds. A dull ache radiated from Amelia's side, and she decided that not moving was probably the best bet. Without pivoting, she looked to her left, and saw Growlithe keeping silent guard over her, dozing lightly. Amelia felt relief knowing that he hadn't been seriously hurt, but then flashes of the battle, and the image of Pidgey plummeting seared into her mind, and she felt a sick swoop in her stomach. She swiped at hot tears with her shirt sleeve, and her distress caused the dozing Growlithe to stir, sitting up and looking at her steadily.

"I'm sorry buddy, I screwed up real bad. I'm glad you're okay though," Amelia said through her tears.

Growlithe continued to meet her gaze, and barked softly, as if to indicate things were okay.

"Thank goodness you're finally awake; I was so worried about you!" Amelia's mother had appeared in the doorway.

Amelia turned to face her, "Where am I? Was I out for that long?"

"You're at Viridian City general hospital. You've been unconscious for almost two days now. I was so worried you were hurt worse than they thought; they couldn't be 100% sure how severe your head injury was until you woke up. What were you thinking being so reckless!?" Amelia's mother said.

Amelia looked down, "I guess I wasn't thinking. I just wanted to stop that man. I was trying to help."

"Nothing in my lab is so important that it's worth getting killed over. You're lucky the police were so quick to arrive, and that you have such reliable pokemon," her mother said.

Amelia felt a fresh pang of guilt, "What about my Pidgey, and Bulbasaur?"

Amelia's mother looked distressed, "Bulbasaur is fine; when the cops arrived on the scene he was guarding you. Pidgey... was severely injured. The fall was almost deadly, and caused a lot of damage. Even with medical technology as it is, especially for pokemon care... he won't be fully healed for a while. Currently he's still at the pokemon center in Pewter City; they didn't want to try moving him."

Amelia felt fresh tears welling up, and was furious at how helpless she felt, "Did they catch the guy at least? Or figure out who he even was?"

"No, he had already escaped off the roof by the time the police found you, and they were more concerned about your injuries. We have no idea who he might have been, and you don't need to worry about that anymore. You weren't much better off than Pidgey when they found you to be perfectly honest, the doctors think with treatment you should be fully healed in a few days. Just focus on getting better," Amelia's mother said.

Amelia closed her eyes against her frustration. All the hurt to her pokemon and herself had been for nothing. For a moment she felt so powerless that she thought she would scream, but the moment passed and she was just left feeling tired.

"Was anyone else hurt?" Amelia asked.

"A few of the researchers had reactions to the sleep gas the intruders Muk released, but nothing serious. With a little time everyone will be fine... even your Pidgey," Amelia's mother said.

Amelia closed her eyes again, "I think I need some more rest, I feel really drained still."

"Of course sweetie; I'll be here when you wake up, and I'll let Colette know you're okay," Amelia's mother said.

Amelia let her mind wander, and drifted back into fitful sleep, half-waking a number of times, caught in nightmares of the battle, of Pidgey falling limply through the storm wracked sky. When Amelia woke again, it was dark. Her mother sat sleeping in a chair in the corner of the room, covered by a blanket. The faint light streaming through the blinds suggested that it was either very early, or fairly late, but lacking context Amelia couldn't be sure which. She tried to sit up, and this time found she could do so without the room spinning uncontrollably as a result.

Amelia stared at the ceiling. She felt worse than she could ever remember feeling, simultaneously restless and completely enervated. She wanted to be doing something, to be checking on her pokemon, or just anything to distract herself from her guilt and the shame she felt. After a while a nurse came in to check on her, and Amelia discovered it was Sunday morning.

"Will I be kept here much longer?" Amelia asked.

"I can't say for sure, but I don't think so. The doctors think they'll be able to discharge you by the afternoon after they perform a few more treatments and tests," the nurse said.

Amelia knew that she was fortunate to live in a time when medicine was so advanced, and had to assume that to be unconscious for so long and held in the hospital for days that she must have been very seriously injured.

"That's good. Um do you know what happened to the other pokemon I had with me?" Amelia asked.

"I'm not sure, I wasn't here when they brought you in, I'm sorry," the nurse said.

Amelia's mother stirred, opening her eyes blearily and running a hand through her tangled hair absently, "Good morning dear. How are you feeling today?"

"Much better, I just want to be out of here, so I can check on my pokemon. I'm worried about Pidgey and... I need to apologize," Amelia said.

"Well I think you can do that soon enough. We can go over to the pokemon center tomorrow maybe to see about him, and I have Bulbasaur and Weedle with your things at home. Don't worry I've been letting them out to exercise and eat," Amelia's mom said.

"Thanks mom, that sounds nice," Amelia said, her voice ringing hollow in her ears.

Amelia passed the morning in a haze, being subjected to a battery of tests to ensure that she was well enough to be discharged from hospital care. Despite her serious injuries, she was more or less completely healed, save for feeling a bit weak and tired, but the doctor said some light exercise and food would help set her straight in short order. Amelia left the hospital with her mother in the late afternoon, with Growlithe following as usual, but despite that Amelia felt disconnected, as if she were watching a movie rather than doing things herself.

When Amelia got home, the first thing she did was run a bath for herself. Amelia didn't especially mind hospitals, but after almost 3 days being bed-ridden she felt disgusting and in desperate need of bathing. She stripped her shirt off, and could see a faint scar laterally across her ribs, on the side that she'd landed on after being thrown. She rubbed the spot absently for a moment, and then finished stripping as the tub filled with steaming hot water. Amelia eased herself into the water, and sighed as she let the pleasant sensation wash over her. It was at that moment that she appreciated fully just how glad she was to not be permanently injured.

After finishing her bath, Amelia went to her room, and retrieved Bulbasaur's pokeball. She gazed uneasily at it, before activating it and releasing Bulbasaur. He stomped around on the floor to face her, and grumbled in her direction. Amelia knelt down in front of him, and felt tears welling up again, but fought them back.

"I'm sorry I messed up Bulbasaur. Thank you for saving me. I hope you will be able to forgive me for my lack of judgment," Amelia bowed down low in front of Bulbasaur.

Bulbasaur looked at her, and she could tell as she met his gaze that he was considering her carefully. Finally, he nodded slightly, and growled in assent. Amelia considered that to be the best she could possibly have hoped for.

"Thank you Bulbasaur. I will be better, for all our sakes," Amelia said. Bulbasaur huffed, and then stomped into a corner, where he presumably intended to nap.

Amelia found her pokegear on her desk, along with the other contents of her pockets from that day, and dialed Colette.

"Amelia! Are you out of the hospital? I came to check up on you a few times, but you were always asleep and I didn't want to disturb you."

"Yeah, I'm fine now; I just got home a little while ago. I just... wanted to let you know I was alright. I'm sorry I got us into all this trouble," Amelia said.

"You don't need to apologize; it's not like you could have known what would happen! I want to know who that guy was, and why he attacked your mom's lab," Colette said.

"I don't know, but his pokemon were incredibly powerful... I think we should leave it be, the authorities will catch him sooner or later," Amelia said noncommittally.

"Aw I guess so; I still want to know though!" Colette said.

Amelia felt heat rising to her face, "Well I just wanted to check in, I'll talk to you later, I have to go."

Colette tried to protest, but Amelia hung up first. Amelia knew she shouldn't be mad at her friend for her curiosity, but her light attitude made Amelia mad. Colette hadn't experienced the fear she had, and couldn't possibly understand how deadly serious things had been that day. After all she had been unconscious the whole time.

Amelia sat on her bed, watching TV absently as the sun slowly sank lower. Her mother called her for dinner, but Amelia decided to eat alone in her room. Her mother clearly seemed concerned, but said nothing. Amelia's mind raced even as she sat lifelessly in her room, replaying the events on the roof over and over, asking herself if there was anything she could have possibly done differently. As torn with guilt as she felt over endangering her pokemon, she was almost as furious at herself for being powerless against such a vicious enemy. Though she knew logically that her opponent had obviously been a more experienced trainer than her by far, she was still frustrated that she had been no match at all.

Amelia looked at the clock, and saw that it was 10:30. When had it gotten so late? Still feeling restless, Amelia crept out of her room in her canvas jacket, heading downstairs, slipping her muddy sneakers on by the door, and the sneaking out of the house. She felt less anxious in the night air, the street lit by the pale glow of the streetlights, as she wandered slowly down the sidewalk, towards the park. She had always gone there when she was upset, and now seemed as good a time as any. The streets were mostly empty, and city was quiet save for the passing of occasional cars.

Amelia's house was only several streets over from the park, and she soon found herself in the familiar surroundings, the lush grass and winding cobbled sidewalks, winding around the pond, and circling towards a central pavilion with a tiered fountain, that was lit at night. As she neared the fountain, she could hear a zapping sound, and saw a lone figure standing behind a pokemon. The young man was throwing objects into the air, and his pokemon was shocking them to dust with controlled blasts of electricity. As she closed, Amelia realized the young man was Darren, with his Luxio. He turned to face her with a look of surprise when he noticed her approach.

"Amelia, I wasn't expecting to see you around tonight! I'm surprised you've already been discharged. How are you doing?" Darren said.

"I'm fine- wait how did you know I was in the hospital?" Amelia asked.

"Your mom told me when I called Friday afternoon. I was worried because you weren't at school for our lesson. I'm glad to see you're alright," Darren said.

"I suppose you're going to tell me I'm a reckless idiot too right?" Amelia said.

Darren sat down on the stone edge of the fountain, "Not especially. You did what you thought was right. Nothing wrong with that, you just need to know your limits you know? It's an important part of growing as a trainer, heck as a person."

Amelia sat down next to him. They watched as Luxio prowled through the gloom of the underbrush, snatching at moths.

"I thought I knew that, I just... I feel so frustrated. I was powerless to protect my pokemon, I couldn't even protect myself!" Amelia shouted.

Darren's expression was hard to read, "So what are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know. I feel like maybe I can't do anything about it. Can I really keep putting my pokemon in danger because of my own lack of judgment?" Amelia said.

"You'd be doing them a much greater disservice if you gave up now don't you think?" Darren said.

"How so? Maybe they'd be better off without me leading them into the line of fire," Amelia said with a sullen shrug of her shoulders.

"Hey no one forced your pokemon to follow you. If they didn't believe in you, they wouldn't fight for you. So if they stick with you, even when things get bad, it means they believe in you. You'd do them a great insult by giving up because of a setback. You'd be shorting yourself too, by backing out at this point," Darren said.

Amelia sat silently, listening to the patter of the water in the fountain.

"It's understandable to be afraid, especially after something serious like that... but I wouldn't expect you to give up like that. Like I said though, you have to know your own limits," Darren said finally.

"Thanks Darren, I guess I was too busy feeling sorry for myself to really think about things clearly. You're right though, giving up would be breaking my word to my pokemon. I'd never be able to forgive myself then. I just have to work to be stronger," Amelia said.

"You'll get there. Just have to pace yourself right?" Darren smiled.

Amelia felt her face flush, and was glad of the dim light, even near the fountain, "Right, I'll remember that. I should probably get headed home though, it's pretty late and I'm still feeling a little weak."

"You okay to head back alone?" Darren asked.

"Yeah it's nearby, don't worry," Amelia said.

"Alright then. I'll see you at school right?" Darren said.

"Definitely. Good night Darren," Amelia said.

Amelia stood and headed back towards her house. Darren stood and whistled for Luxio, who leapt from a nearby bush as if to surprise prey. Darren resumed tossing targets for Luxio to hit with her electricity.

Amelia felt flush as she walked through the cool night. She had never thought that Darren considered her well-being much, and her mind was now awash in a jumble of thoughts and feelings. She walked back in a daze to her house, and crept back to her room. She dropped onto her bed, the streetlights casting faint light in the dark. Still filled with conflicting despair and determination, and fully dressed, Amelia drifted into a troubled sleep.


	10. Chapter 9

Hello readers! I'm sorry for the delay in updating, and that this chapter isn't that long, I've been frantically prepping for Anime Boston (where I sell in the Artist Alley) and that has kept me distracted from anything else! I still wanted to at least give you something, because I'm so grateful to have readers at all! I will try to resume a more normal update schedule after this weekend, when my big con is over with and I don't have to spend EVERY waking minute on merch and prep. Thanks for sticking with me and GFVC!

-9-

Amelia was slow to get out of bed the next morning, even though she was quick to wake up. She felt a lot better than she had the day before, but was still fairly sore all over, and she was not excited by the task in front of her. She had decided that today she would visit the pokemon center to check up on Pidgey, but just the thought of her hurt friend made her feel short of breath and panicky. On the one hand she really wanted to see him, but on the other still felt intensely guilty about what had befallen him.

When Amelia finally got up and dressed, Growlithe was at the ready, following her just as he had on so many other mornings. It was overcast, and a fog had settled over the streets, obscuring the roads and buildings in the distance. When Amelia went downstairs, she found her mother in the dining room by the kitchen, writing on her laptop by the sliding back door, so that the screen door could let in the cool air.

"Good morning honey, how're you feeling today?" Her mother asked.

Amelia tried to smile, "A lot better, you don't have to worry mom. I was thinking about going down to the pokemon center to check on Pidgey in a bit."

"That sounds like a good idea; did you want me to come along?" Her mother said.

"That's okay, I should be alright by myself, and it isn't very far. Thanks though," Amelia said.

"Hmm. Alright then, but make sure to call if you need me, okay?" Her mother said.

"I will, but I'm sure it'll be fine," Amelia said, though she wasn't convinced herself if she would be fine.

Growlithe met Amelia by the door, and they headed out together into the fog. The damp gloom heightened her anxiety as she headed for the mall and the pokemon center. It had only been a week since she had first brought her newly caught Pidgey to the pokemon center, but she felt so different from the girl who had done that. She had the same interests, and the same goals, but somehow life had taken on a slightly graver aspect. Amelia couldn't help feeling like the shadows were a little bit deeper now than they had been on that day.

Amelia entered the pokemon center through its external entrance, a small chime accompanying the automatic doors sliding open. Amelia's saw Lisa was at the counter, as she was on most days.

Amelia tried to be casual, "Hi Lisa, I'm here to check in on my Pidgey, do you know how he's doing?"

Lisa tried smiling, but Amelia could see in her expression that she knew at least part of what had happened. Her smile was strained, "Yeah, he had to undergo fairly extensive surgery but I believe he should be out now. You can go through to check up on him if you'd like."

Amelia nodded, "That would be nice. Do you know when he can be released?"

"Maybe in another day or so, but you should have Pidgey avoid any strenuous activity for a few days after. His wings will continue to heal for the next few days, so he should stay grounded for that time," Lisa said.

Amelia nodded, and followed Lisa back through a door towards the rooms where pokemon were treated for serious injury. The hall was warmer than Amelia had imagined, colored a soothing shade of rose. Lisa stopped next to a white door, and gestured for Amelia to enter.

"I can wait out here if you'd like," Lisa said.

"Thanks, I'd just like a moment alone with him. I'll just be few minutes," Amelia said.

Amelia cracked the door open and entered slowly. The room she entered was small, with an incubator against one wall. Pidgey sat in one corner, looking downcast, his wings bandaged so that they were held immobile at his side.

Amelia approached, and tried to look optimistic, though she could feel tears welling up.

"Hey pal, how's it going?" She said haltingly.

Pidgey chirped weakly, but seemed encouraging.

"I'm sorry I messed up, and that you were hurt because of it. I understand if that isn't good enough, or you can't forgive me so easily. I just wanted to apologize," Amelia said.

Pidgey looked up at her and with some difficulty rose from his sitting position, to face her directly. He let out a clear strong chirp, and then nodded, as if that had settled the matter. Amelia was once more struck by the profound loyalty that all her pokemon had shown her, even those she had known for a relatively short time. Their faith was a weighty responsibility for her, but it also made her feel braver.

"Thank you... the doctors say that you can come home soon, so please just rest and heal up until then. I'll see you again soon okay?" Amelia asked.

Pidgey chirped a positive, and Amelia smiled, before exiting the room, where Lisa was waiting. Amelia wiped a tear from her eye as she closed the door behind her.

"Thanks for waiting. He seems like he's in good spirits, I'm relieved," Amelia said.

"He's a tough little bird, that's for sure. You know this sort of thing isn't that uncommon... you shouldn't be too hard on yourself. I do think it's nice when a trainer is so concerned about their pokemon, but injuries are an inevitable outcome of battling," Lisa said.

"I know. I just don't want my pokemon to be injured because of my inexperience, or a lack of judgment. That should never be the cause of their injuries," Amelia said gravely, as they walked back towards the entrance.

"I suppose that's a good decision to make, just don't be too unforgiving to yourself in that regard. Anyway, I'll give you a call when Pidgey is ready to come home okay? You take it easy until then, from what I heard you went through quite an ordeal," Lisa said.

"Thanks, I'll be careful. I'll see you later Lisa," Amelia said. She headed back out onto the street, and started walking home. The fog had thinned out somewhat, but the sun was still struggling to shine through, and cast a dim, wan light onto the street. When Amelia got home, she could hear her mother shuffling papers and typing in her study, and so decided not to disturb her work. Amelia climbed the stairs to her room and changed into running shorts and a tank top, and dug through her closet to find her running shoes. She grabbed a hair tie off the end of the hairbrush on her desk, and put her hair up into a high tail. Bulbasaur watched her progress with disinterest from the far side of the room.

"I'm going for a run; do you want to come along?" Amelia asked with a wry grin.

Bulbasaur snorted derisively, and resumed his nap. Amelia wasn't surprised in the least. Bulbasaur had exhibited many virtues, but a love for running was not one of them, and furthermore she knew that Bulbasaur was likely to be less energetic on a cloudy day than a sunny one. Amelia noted a shirt sitting on the floor near her dresser that was wiggling oddly, as if it were attempting to escape. From out under it scooted Weedle, causing Amelia to tilt her head with curiosity. Had she let Weedle out of his pokeball? She couldn't remember. Weedle inched energetically to her feet, and then up her leg. Amelia held her arm out in front of her so he could inch out to face her.

"Hey there little guy! Do you want to come along for my run?" Amelia asked. Weedle wiggled and then inched excitedly in a circle around her arm, which tickled her.

"Okay okay, calm down you goof," Amelia laughed.

Amelia waited while Weedle climbed up to her shoulder, suctioning himself firmly into place, before bounding down the stairs, where Growlithe had been relaxing by the back door. Amelia clapped her hands.

"I'm going out for a run Growlithe, are you coming or what?" Amelia said.

Growlithe barked twice before jumping up from his sitting position and running toward the door. Amelia did some warm up stretches before heading out onto the misty street, setting off at a brisk clip down the sidewalk, toward the fields outside of town. Growlithe followed along, before pulling ahead and leading her, barking to express his happiness, no doubt glad to be outside after days cooped up in a hospital and then the house. Weedle gripped Amelia's shoulder tightly, his eyes closed with happiness.

Amelia followed the river as she ran, the cool misty air rushing across her face and felt for the first time since she'd been home like she was in control again. Darren had been right, she had made a mistake, but giving up would just be another, larger mistake. Amelia was angry at herself, for allowing, even for a moment, for that sullen attitude to take her. She had spent so much of her life up to the present filled with doubt, and had thought she had finally laid those demons to rest. Maybe that had been wishful thinking.

Amelia slowed to a walk, stopping on the riverbank to gaze at the water, sparkling as the sun finally shone through, the fog finally giving way to the afternoon sun. She had been so distracted that she had run most of the way to Pallet Town, the smaller town to the south of Viridian.

"Fancy running into you out here. I'm glad you're getting back to yourself," Amelia turned to see Colette walking up to the riverbank, with Marill and her new Pikachu in tow.

"Yeah, I guess so. Running helps me clear my head and I couldn't stand being stuck inside anymore after being in the hospital. I'm not much for being stuck indoors," Amelia said.

"What happened last night? One minute we were talking, and the next you shut me down and hung up. What did I say?" Colette asked.

Amelia shifted uneasily, "Look I just didn't really want to talk about what happened. You sounded so excited about the prospect of some mystery criminal, and that's just not how I feel about it."

"I was there too you know. It isn't like I don't understand how you feel," Colette said.

"But you don't understand!" Amelia cried. She took a second to try and calm down, feeling the heat rising to her face again.

"You don't understand. You weren't on the roof. That guy was trying to kill me, and my pokemon, and he nearly succeeded. You can't imagine how powerless and frustrated I felt, how scared I was, for them and for myself. I didn't mean to get mad about it, I'm sorry," Amelia said.

Colette looked regretful, "I'm sorry too. It was insensitive of me; I didn't really know the details about what happened. I knew you'd gotten hurt but... I guess you're right, I can't imagine what that must have been like."

Amelia turned back to the water, "I've been replaying that day in my head since I woke up in the hospital. I don't think I've ever been so tormented by a failure, and it had me feeling so low that I thought I would just give up. I'm not going to do that though. The best thing I can do for myself and for my pokemon is to become a stronger trainer, a stronger _person_, so that if I'm in that position again, I won't be helpless."

Colette nodded, "That's good. So how about it then? No time like the present, and we were just finished warming up. Growlithe vs. Pikachu?"

Amelia turned back to face Colette, and her eyes flashed defiantly, "I hope you're ready to get your butt kicked. Let's get back in the game Growlithe, you up for this?"

Growlithe assumed a low attack stance, and barked at Pikachu with a wolfish grin.

"Good answer!"


	11. Chapter 10

-10-

Pikachu and Growlithe squared off against each other, the fog steaming off the field as the afternoon sun burned through the clouds. Amelia stood opposite Colette, focused entirely on the battle in front of her.

_Pikachu is faster than Growlithe. I need to take away the speed advantage._

"Growlithe, build up a smoke screen by searing the grass!" Amelia said.

"Quick Pikachu, before you can't see him, close in and use thundershock!" Colette said.

Pikachu dashed forward as Growlithe swept a thin line of faint flame across the ground before him, creating smoke that added to the remaining fog, Sparks issued from the fog as Pikachu attempted in vain to hit his mark.

"Growlithe, sniff out Pikachu and put on the heat!" Amelia shouted.

Growlithe barked back from within the smoke cloud. There were more sparks and flashes from within the smoke before Pikachu emerged, thrown clear by Growlithe. A moment later, Growlithe leaped clear from the cloud as well. Pikachu rolled to dodge the incoming attack and swept his tail to try and trip up Growlithe.

"Pikachu, enough messing around, use thunderbolt before it's too late!" Colette said.

Pikachu nodded, his cheeks sparking faintly at first, before his whole body was covered in arcing electricity. Pikachu unleashed a torrent of electrical energy at Growlithe. Growlithe barreled towards Pikachu, and tackled into him even as the thunderbolt struck him head on. Pikachu rebounded, knocked to the ground, while Growlithe dropped where he collided with Pikachu. For a moment, neither moved, but then Growlithe rose slowly to his feet.

"Damn! You did your best Pikachu, return" Colette recalled her Pikachu to his pokeball.

Growlithe barked twice, before settling back onto his haunches in the grass, as the embers from the seared grass stopped smoking so much.

"Well it's good to see you've still got fight in you! We're running out of time before the tournament starts, and we've been preparing for so long. I didn't want to think you would back out after everything," Colette said.

Amelia sighed, "Of course not. I didn't decide to go on our trip on a whim, and I certainly wouldn't suddenly back out, definitely not without telling you first."

"Speaking of telling... have you broken the news to your mom yet?" Colette asked.

"Ah... not yet. I was planning on doing it over this past weekend but obviously circumstances prevented that. I guess I can't put it off forever though," Amelia said

"No you should really tell her sooner rather than later. Especially with the incident at the lab, it might take her a little while to get comfortable with the idea," Colette said.

"I guess I should do it when I get home then. I mean, the tournament is less than a full week away now, so I really shouldn't put it off anymore," Amelia said.

"Our bracket starts on Sunday, and the qualifiers for the badge bracket matches start on Friday, so yeah we don't have a lot of time. By the way what are you going to do about your third pokemon?" Colette said.

"Ugh... I don't know. Pidgey is only just now going to be out of the pokemon center's care, I don't know that he would be ready in time for the tournament. More than that, he's missed out on a lot of training time, and I'm not even sure if I would _want _to put him in the line of fire again right after he recovered," Amelia said.

"Well that just leaves you with Weedle as your third. I don't know that he would really be up to the challenge, no matter how enthusiastic he is, no offense little guy," Colette said. Weedle scooted up higher onto Amelia's shoulder, to make himself look bigger.

"That might be what I have to do in the end though. Are you up for serious training buddy?" Amelia said to Weedle. Weedle waggled to indicate his willingness.

"Well at least I know _he_ has confidence. I should take one crisis at a time though. First I go home and tell my mom about our plans. Then I'll start figuring out my battle strategy again," Amelia said.

"Sounds like a good idea. Let's head back then, we're a pretty good ways out," Colette said.

Amelia nodded, and together they started walking back towards town. She considered how she could best break the news to her mother. She had thought of a lot of ways to broach the subject, but in the end it would probably be best to be straight forward. It wasn't as if she would be traveling alone, and her mother must have suspected that she would leave at some point. She had mentioned it in an off-hand, distant sort of way in the past, but no serious discussion had taken place.

Amelia parted with Colette near her house, and then she and Growlithe walked the rest of the way home, the wind blowing through the trees in the late afternoon sun. Growlithe ran ahead of her, and turned back, barking encouragement. Amelia smiled.

"Okay I'm coming! What's your rush, are you that excited for dinner?" Amelia said. Growlithe barked in agreement. Weedle scooted from one shoulder to the other to express his interest as well.

"Geez you too? Fine, let's go!" Amelia said, jogging up the street the rest of the way.

When Amelia entered her house, her mother was in the kitchen making dinner.

"Amelia is that you? Where did you get to? I thought I heard you come home and leave again," Her mom said.

"Yeah I did, I went for a run and got some practice battling in with Colette. Um, while we were walking back Colette and I were talking, and there's something I need to talk to you about," Amelia said.

"Okay, I'm all ears, what do we have to talk about?" her mother said.

"After the tournament, Colette and I were planning on going on a trip together. We were going to start by going to Cerulean City, but our goal is to challenge gyms all over the region, and become serious pokemon trainers," Amelia said.

Amelia's mother stopped chopping vegetables and put the knife down on the counter. She said nothing for a moment.

"Well I can't say I'm altogether surprised, but I sort of hoped it wouldn't be so soon. How long have you been planning to do this?" her mother asked.

"A while. Since graduation at least. I didn't really know how to bring it up, and I guess if I didn't tell you about it then... it was like I could still back out you know?" Amelia said.

"I think I understand honey. Well of course I won't try to stop you, but I want to make sure you know what you're doing. You'll need money, and you'll need to be _careful_," her mother said pointedly.

"I know. I've been saving up money for a while, and if I do well in this tournament I'll have extra. As far as being careful well... I've had a plenty of opportunity to learn about that in the past couple days, that's for sure," Amelia said.

"I suppose you're right. Well I'm glad you told me at least. If you need help preparing, let me know, and I'll help however I can. I want you to succeed in whatever you're trying to do, and I know how serious you are about being a pokemon trainer," Amelia's mother said.

"Thanks mom, I was kind of worried that this wouldn't go so well, but I guess I got worked up about nothing. I'm going to go get cleaned up before dinner!" Amelia said, running upstairs.

After showering, Amelia got dinner, and took it to her bedroom, putting her plate near her computer so that she could work on a lineup plan. With Weedle as her third, Amelia's chances were a lot worse, as loathe as she was to admit it. Weedle was very enthusiastic, but also small and vulnerable. While she was considering a possible course of training to evolve him, Amelia's pokegear rang.

"Hey Colette, what's up?" Amelia answered.

"I forgot to ask before I left! Did you want to go to the qualifiers on Friday? Darren said that his bracket was going to be qualifying the first day, I thought it would be nice if we went to cheer him on!" Colette said.

"Yeah, that's a good idea, we should! It could be good to observe some more skilled trainers in battle too. What time does it start?" Amelia asked.

"Not sure, I didn't ask him, I'm sure we can figure it out though. Oh, did you tell your mom about our plans?" Colette said.

"Yeah a little while ago. She took it pretty well actually, so I guess that's that. I still need to let the academy know the last day I'll be available to tutor though. I should probably get around to that tomorrow. How soon after the tournament do you want to set out?" Amelia asked.

"A week or so maybe, it's not important. First things first though, we have a tournament to win right?" Colette said.

"Well _I_ certainly do," Amelia said. Colette laughed.

"We'll see. I'll talk to you later!" Colette hung up.

Amelia put her phone back on the desk, and leaned back in her chair. Darren would be competing in the bracket above her, but would have to pass a qualifier round first. The badge-less competition didn't have a qualifier, because it was single elimination. That meant that pretty much no matter how many entrants there were, the number would be quickly culled.

"It's going to be a busy week, are you guys ready to really get to work? We're going to have to practice hard if we're going to be ready on Sunday," Amelia said.

Growlithe barked and wagged his tail. Weedle inched around in a circle on Amelia's bed. Bulbasaur grumbled begrudgingly. Amelia smiled. At the very least, she would face the challenges of the week head on. She returned to her work on her laptop, researching battle strategies that were currently popular, in an effort to anticipate what she might face at the tournament.

Amelia got an early start the next day, quickly getting dressed and heading to the pokemon center with Growlithe in tow. She was eager to see Pidgey again, and to bring him home. Amelia exchanged a quick greeting with the man at the front desk, and then requested the discharge of her pokemon. She received his pokeball moments later, after signing a release form, and then headed back out onto the street. It was cool and breezy, with fluffy clouds periodically covering the sun as they drifted dreamily across the sky. Amelia decided that her next stop had to be the Academy, to make sure they knew she would be leaving soon. This had been the last announcement of her departure she had put off, and she would feel that things were really settled once she had taken care of it.

Amelia waited for the bus at a stop by the mall, watching people going in and out, and thinking about how strange it was to be leaving soon. Amelia had led an insular life, having only ventured further than Pewter City on several occasions. Most everything she knew was in or around Viridian City, and she would be leaving that sense of familiarity behind. It was exciting and terrifying all at once, but she knew now more than ever that it would be worth it.

Amelia spent the familiar bus ride considering how to spend the rest of her day. She would definitely spend it training with her pokemon, but she wasn't sure exactly _how_ yet. Growlithe sat obediently at her feet for the whole ride.

Amelia strode through the tall gates of the Academy, thinking back to last spring, when she had graduated. A lot of her classmates had left town for various destinations almost immediately after, and she'd felt sort of sad about it. The academic year ran from July through April, so when the new year had started, Amelia had applied as a tutor. She felt a little guilty quitting so soon after, but she felt that her former instructors would understand.

Amelia headed into the main building, and up to the second floor. As a tutor, she worked directly under a regular instructor and assumed that she should inform them first of her imminent departure. Amelia arrived at an office with "R. Grant" stenciled on the window, and knocked. Amelia was fairly certain that Professor Grant had no classes, and so hoped she would be in her office. After a moment a soft voice called for her to come in.

"Professor, I'm sorry to drop in unannounced, but there was something I felt I needed to tell you, and I didn't want to put it off any longer," Amelia began.

The willowy young woman seated behind the desk by the window had short, straight black hair that fell to just above her jawline, and pale blue eyes framed by wire-rimmed glasses. She looked slightly surprised at Amelia's breathless proclamation.

"Well by all means, come in, and have a seat. Oh and you brought Growlithe along too, how are you doing mister?" Professor Grant said. Growlithe yipped happily at the attention.

"I'm glad to see you're doing okay after what happened. I know you had requested this week off for training before the big tournament, but I hope you haven't been pushing yourself too hard. Now tell me, what is so important that you could not wait another moment, but that you also have apparently been putting off telling me?" Professor Grant said.

"Well, you see, I am planning on leaving town, probably early next month, so I thought I had better give you, and the Academy, notice about it," Amelia said, fidgeting in her seat.

"Leaving? Well this is a little bit of a surprise. Do you have a specific destination in mind, or are you just intent on being somewhere else I wonder," Professor Grant mused.

"I'm planning to stop in a lot of different places, and to challenge the gyms all across the region. Colette and I both plan on leaving together to do it. We were waiting until after the tournament the gym is hosting at the end of the month," Amelia said.

"Ah, I suppose that makes sense. Well I'll be sorry to lose the extra help with the new students, but I'm glad you've set a new goal for yourself. Of course if and when you come back, there will be a place for you here if you so choose. I think you have a knack for teaching others to be honest," Professor Grant said.

"Thank you for being so understanding. I know that this is sort of short notice, I just had been putting off telling you in case I changed my mind," Amelia said.

"So you had doubts... but now it seems you have resolved them. Very good, if you proceed with confidence I'm sure you'll succeed," Professor Grant said.

"Have you told Darren yet? You two seem to get along well, I bet he'll be sorry to see you go," Professor Grant said lightly.

"I have... well actually I guess I haven't really told him directly. I think he knows, I thought Colette might have told him, but I guess we haven't really talked about it," Amelia said.

"Well you might consider making time to do so. You two have spent a lot of time working together, so at the very least he should hear about your departure from you and not me," Professor Grant said.

"You're right. Maybe I'll go see him now actually. I was planning on getting some training in, maybe I'll go to the gym. I bet he'll be there training," Amelia said.

"Really? Maybe you're better friends than I thought if you're so sure about where he is all the time," Professor Grant said with a mischievous grin. Amelia blushed.

"I don't know all the time; he might not even be there! I'm just guessing because the tournament is so close," Amelia said quickly.

Professor Grant laughed, "Well don't let me keep you from your training. I have some grading I want to finish before my next lecture anyway, so perhaps we should end our discussion here."

"Right, I don't want to take up any more of your time, I just wanted to let you know about my plans," Amelia said.

"Well thank you for doing so. If I don't see you again before, best of luck at the tournament! You too Growlithe, do your best!" Professor Grant said. Growlithe barked fiercely.

Amelia let herself out and headed down the hall. She _hadn't_ told Darren, and now that seemed strange to her, and wrong somehow. He'd been very supportive, and they spent a fair amount of time together at the Academy, so why hadn't she? Rather than muse about the past, Amelia reasoned, she could remedy her mistake by telling him now. She decided to head to the Viridian City Gym, in the hopes of doing so. If she happened to get in some training time in the process, well that would just be a bonus wouldn't it?


	12. Chapter 11

-11-

Amelia rode the bus back from the academy, but stayed on past her usual stop, until she arrived at the stop near the Viridian City Gym. Though she had always lived in Viridian City, she had seldom been to the gym in the past. It was more Amelia's way to train alone at her own pace, and she would be kidding herself if she didn't admit that being self-conscious was at least part of the reason why she avoided the gym. There were a lot of very experienced trainers who called Viridian City their home, and she felt her own skills were still dwarfed by their prowess.

At least, she _had_ felt that way until fairly recently. Amelia was beginning to appreciate that skill was at least as much a product of time and effort as it was the consequence of native talent. While she was still a beginner in many ways, Amelia finally felt that she understood what it would take to become a trainer worthy of respect. She also realized that without facing trainers better than her, she would never improve herself.

Amelia walked through the automatic double doors into the gym's large central room, and surveyed the interior in search of Darren. Growlithe followed behind her, looking all around with excitement as they walked. Amelia realized he'd probably never been somewhere with so many fighting pokemon before. She had reached the edge of the large indoor track before she spotted him, standing beside the track further down, watching his Luxio run with a stopwatch in his hand.

"Gearing up for the weekend?" Amelia said as she approached.

Darren turned to her and smiled mildly, "Something like that. I didn't expect to see you, heck I can't remember _ever_ seeing you in the gym. What's the occasion?"

"I was looking for you actually. Wanted to let you know I'd be turning out with Colette to cheer you on Friday. You think you're ready?" Amelia said.

Darren laughed lightly, "It's always tough to say. I feel like I'm as ready as I'm going to be at least. There's going to be a lot of heavy hitters turning out for this event, even in my bracket, so there's no guessing what sorts of trainers I'll be up against. How about you, feeling confident?"

"I'm not so sure about my team's third, with Pidgey's injury and all, but other than that I feel pretty good actually," Amelia said.

"You sound kind of surprised about that," Darren said.

"I guess with everything that happened I wasn't feeling too strongly. I think I'm good now though," Amelia said.

"I'm glad to hear it. I have to say, I'm sort of suspicious about you showing up here just to tell me you were going to come watch me at the tournament. I feel like you could have just sent me a message. What else is on your mind?" Darren said.

Amelia exhaled, "Yeah you got me there. I just came from the academy, I was talking with Professor Grant about my plans, and I realized that I hadn't told you about them either. I felt bad about that, I mean we're friends right? So I'm here now to tell you that, after the tournament and everything, I'm planning on leaving town."

Darren stopped his watch as Luxio dashed past, "Okay Luxio good run time. Do some cool down laps now."

Darren turned back to Amelia, "I guess I'm not surprised. I sort of had the feeling these past couple weeks that you were planning something big. You and Colette too I'm guessing?"

"Yeah, that's the plan. Not entirely sure where we're headed first, but the goal is to travel around, catch new pokemon, train at different gyms, take on the leaders, you know the deal. Full time trainers," Amelia said.

"Sounds like you've been planning it for a while. I appreciate you giving me the heads up, it would've been a real upset if you'd just disappeared one day," Darren said.

"I wouldn't do that! Anyway I feel bad about leaving you alone with all the newbies to teach, but I think this is something I have to do as a trainer. I think we'll be heading to Cerulean City first, probably a week or so after the tournament. We've both been saving up money, so even if things don't go so well this weekend, we'll still have plenty of funds to start off our trip," Amelia said.

"Well it sounds like a heck of a plan to me. I'm sure I'll be able to muddle along without you, but I will be sad to see you go. It's been a lot of fun working with you," Darren said.

Amelia's response was interrupted by a girl calling out to Darren, "Hey Darren! Me and Phil are looking to get some battle practice in, you up for it?"

The girl was tall and statuesque, with chestnut colored hair. Amelia didn't know her, but assumed she was friends with Darren.

"Hey Courtney, I didn't know you guys were here. Sure I'm up for a friendly bout or two. Have you met Amelia yet?" Darren said.

"I don't think so, is this your girlfriend from the academy you're always talking about?" Courtney said.

"H-hey, I never said she was my girlfriend! We're friends and co-workers, I don't want her thinking I say weird things about her when she's not around," Darren said hurriedly. Amelia's cheeks flushed faintly.

"Whatever you say Romeo. Pleased to make your acquaintance Amelia! You want to join in on our battle? We can do a 2v2, you and Darren versus me and Phil.

"Yeah, sure that sounds like a good idea to me, I could use some more practice," Amelia said.

"Cool, we're going to use battle room three, it's over in the far left corner of the gym! Come find us when you two are ready," Courtney said, before trotting off.

"Sorry about her, she's... high spirited I guess is a good way of putting it," Darren said.

"Don't worry, no big deal. What's our plan for this battle?" Amelia said.

"That depends. What pokemon do you have with you right now?" Darren asked.

"All of them. Growlithe, Bulbasaur and Weedle are all good to go. Pidgey is healed technically, but I don't want to throw him right into a battle yet, right after he was hurt. So let's say I have 3 battle ready team members," Amelia said.

"Alright, that'll do fine for this. Luxio! Pack it in, it's game time," Darren called. Luxio trotted at a leisurely pace to stand beside Darren. Growlithe barked a friendly greeting, which Luxio returned with an indifferent sniff. Growlithe's ears drooped somewhat.

Amelia followed Darren to the door that Courtney had indicated, and entered into a battle space far more spacious than Amelia had anticipated. The battlefield appeared to be a regulation sized arena, and there was ample space afforded around it. Courtney was by a bench against the far wall, talking to a guy who looked very short, though Amelia suspected his standing directly next to Courtney accentuated that effect. They appeared to be deeply involved in a discussion of strategy.

"Hey Darren! Glad you took us up on the offer, who's your friend?" Phil asked.

"Right, Phil this is Amelia. Amelia, meet Phil," Darren said.

"Nice to meet you Amelia!" Phil with enthusiasm.

"Likewise. Gosh I've never really been to the gym before, even looking at it from the outside you don't realize just how_ big_ it is in here," Amelia said.

"Yeah plenty of space to train in that's for sure. So Courtney says we're doing a two on two? You guys versus us I'm guessing?" Phil said.

"That's the plan. Are you ready?" Darren asked.

"Yep, just finished planning stuff out. Let's get started!" Courtney said.

The two teams took their places on opposite ends of the marked battlefield. Amelia couldn't help but think about how in only a few days she would be battling on a field just like this one in an official match..

Darren gestured, "Pick your first pokemon, I'll plan accordingly."

Amelia considered. Growlithe was her most reliable team member, so she would save him for last. Weedle was still very inexperienced in battle, so she wouldn't send him out first. That left an obvious choice. She reached for one of the pokeballs on her belt and tossed it out. Bulbasaur emerged from the ensuing flash, and looked around in annoyance.

"Bulbasaur, training time! We're fighting together with Darren's pokemon, so try to get along okay?" Amelia said hopefully. Bulbasaur grumbled.

"Bulbasaur huh? Okay, then I'll try to complement him with my opener. Starmie, it's go time!" Darren tossed out a pokeball, releasing his Starmie onto the field beside Bulbasaur. Starmie gestured with its appendages in a bow to Bulbasaur, who gave the faintest incline of his head in response. _Better than I expected,_ Amelia thought.

Courtney grabbed a blue and white net ball from her belt, and tossed out her first pokemon. A large whiskered fish that scooted through the dust. Phil sent out his pokemon, a blue armored bug of considerable size with a prominent horn.

"Heracross and Whiscash huh? This will be interesting. Ready when you are guys! Amelia, have Bulbasaur hang back and attack at range, Starmie will move in close!" Darren said.

"Got it! Bulbasaur, lay down a cover of razor leaves!" Amelia said.

"Heracross, get in Starmie's face while Whiscash sets up!" Phil said.

"Whiscash, get ready to bring the quake, use magnitude!" Courtney shouted.

Bulbasaur grunted before anchoring himself with his vines, and letting loose with a savage flurry of leaves, that whistled through the air keenly. Starmie spun on its side with blinding speed towards its targets. Heracross lumbered forward to meet Starmie as Whiscash began slapping its tail on the ground with increasing force.

"Heracross, don't let Starmie land a hit, use your reversal tech to counter!" Phil said.

As Starmie impacted Heracross deftly grabbed it by two of its star appendages, hurling Starmie through the air. Unfortunately for Heracross, it wasn't very effective, as Starmie used it's psychic power to halt in mid-air.

"Man you never learn, Starmie use psybeam!" Darren commanded.

Starmie blasted away at Heracross with a blinding beam of energy that warped the air around it, just as Whiscash's thunderous tail slaps reached their peak, causing a quake that shook the whole battlefield. Despite the earth-shaking force, the attack was ineffective. Starmie remained airborne, and Bulbasaur was firmly anchored. Starmie's beam struck Heracross and sent him reeling backward, and the razor flurry Bulbasaur fired found its mark against Whiscash, striking with tremendous force and sending Whiscash sprawling senseless to the floor. Heracross attempted to right himself, dashing forward once more.

"Starmie don't let him through, go for another psybeam!" Darren said.

"Heracross, like we practiced, up and over and hit Bulbasaur!" Phil shouted.

Heracross leaped forward onto his hands, and propelled himself into the air and over Starmie's beam. Heracross dove down, striking with his claw, and knocking Bulbasaur back.

"Get him with the beam before he can dodge again!" Darren said.

Heracross had solidly hit Bulbasaur, but its landing left it vulnerable, and Starmie's attack connected solidly, sending Heracross backwards end over end in a tangle of limbs.

Courtney grimaced, "Whiscash and Heracross got completely dominated. Return!"

Bulbasaur righted himself and dusted off his bulb with his vine tendrils.

"Bulbasaur, are you okay?" Amelia asked. Bulbasaur huffed indignantly.

"Okay, sorry, you did good! Return," Amelia recalled Bulbasaur to his pokeball, and gestured to Growlithe.

"You're up buddy, do your best!," Amelia said.

Darren nodded to Luxio, "You're up, remember what we've been practicing."

Luxio trotted to the forefront, preening itself indifferently before turning to face forward with a deadly intensity.

Courtney turned to Phil, "We have to pull it together. Time for our trump card right?"

Phil nodded, "Yeah, come on Hitmonchan!"

Courtney tossed her second pokeball, "Hitmonlee, you're up! Kick their butts!"

From their respective pokeballs came two pokemon, one a brown anthroform who immediately released a flurry of warmup kicks, and the other a more feminine anthroform with hands that appeared to be boxing gloves. It unleashed a lightning flurry of jabs.

"Well this isn't going to be easy. You ready Amelia?" Darren said.

"You bet. Growlithe get ready, You'll have to keep moving! Back up Luxio!" Amelia said.

"Luxio, take point! Don't let them box you in!" Darren said. Luxio moved forward, shedding a trail of sparks as she advanced.

Courtney laughed, "Intimidation tactics? As if, Hitmonlee, set up for your high jump kick!"

"Hitmonchan, keep Luxio pinned down with mach punches!" Phil said.

Hitmonchan let loose with flurries of rapid jabs, forcing Luxio to evade, and leaving no room for dodges. Growlithe moved in to assist.

"Growlithe, clear him out, Flame Wheel!" Amelia shouted.

Growlithe rushed forward, leaped into the air, and then spun towards the ground, surrounding himself with an arc of flame as he crashed towards the ground. Hitmonchan dodged at the last moment, back pedaling to escape the sweeping flames. Luxio used the opportunity to escape. Hitmonlee landed foot first on the spot where Luxio had been, and stumbled forward hard, stunned for a moment before regaining himself.

"Hitmonchan, use your mega punch to take down Luxio!" Phil said.

"Hitmonlee, follow suit, mega kick!" Courtney said.

"Luxio go evasive!" Darren said.

"Growlithe, put the heat on, use flame wheel on Hitmonlee!" Amelia said.

The two pokemon converged on Luxio, Hitmonchan throwing a furious right hook, while Hitmonlee threw a spinning kick. Luxio dodged the punch but Hitmonlee's kick connected and Luxio was propelled through the air, crashing hard on her side. At the same time Growlithe collided in a fiery burst with Hitmonlee, sending him rebounding against the ground, smoldering.

"Growlithe, quick, take down Hitmonchan!" Amelia said.

"Hitmonchan, mach punch!" Phil said.

Faster than Growlithe could attack, Hitmonchan delivered a high speed punch, staggering him. In reaction, Growlithe bit down on Hitmonchan's arm, causing Hitmonchan to flinch backward.

"You've got her off guard, get her again, use fire fang!" Amelia said.

Growlithe emitted a burst of fire as he bit down again, dragging Hitmonchan to the ground. Growlithe backed off as Hitmonchan gave off billowing smoke that slowly dissipated.

"Damn, I thought we had you there for a second. Hitmonchan return." Phil recalled his pokemon, and Courtney followed suit.

Darren recalled Luxio as well, "That's a neat trick Growlithe did there. When did you teach him to do that?"

"The flame wheel? We've been working on it for a while, but I haven't had him try it in a battle until now. You did a good job buddy," Amelia said, kneeling to ruffle the fur atop Growlithe's head.

"I think it's a good move to have in your arsenal for the tournament. Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee look good guys, but you need to toughen them up if you don't want a first round knockout. They need to be able to take a hit," Darren said.

"Yeah I know... man, I felt like we had a strong plan there double teaming you like that, but you and Amelia worked together like a well oiled machine," Courtney said.

"Well we have been working together for a while. I know her style," Darren said.

"Yeah, though usually you're using that understanding to wipe the floor with me," Amelia said wryly.

"Well we're taking our pokemon to the center so they can get patched up, how about you?" Phil said.

"Yeah I guess I better too, I'll tag along," Darren said.

"My guys are okay, so I'm probably going to head home, I'll see you later okay?" Amelia said.

"Yeah, if I don't see you before, I'll definitely see you at the qualifiers right?" Darren said.

"Absolutely. It was good squaring off with you guys, and nice meeting you too!" Amelia said.

"Look forward to doing it again some time. You've got some moves Amelia!" Phil said.

"Yeah I can see why Darren likes you," Courtney winked and they left.

Amelia coughed lightly into her hand, as they left, and then looked down at Growlithe.

"Ready to go home?" Amelia said.

Growlithe barked affirmative, and together they made their way out of the gym, and back out into the sunlight.


End file.
